I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

' Shelf .^S^ t A-5. 

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i UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



CENTENNIAL PAPERS 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE 



General Conference 



OF THE 



CONGREGATIOiNAL CHURCHES 



OF 



CONNECTICUT. 



■i*. 






HARTFORD: 

PRESS OF THE CASE, LOCKWOOD & BRAINARD COMPANY. 

1877. 



$> 






INTRODUCTION. 



At the eighth annual meeting of the General Conference of 
the Congregational' Churches of Connecticut, convened in Park 
church, Norwich, November '9, 1875, ^n the recommendation of 
ths Standing Committee, it was 

Resolved, That at the General Conference of 1876, two histor- 
ical discourses be delivered, on successive evenings, referring in 
part, at least, to the relations of the Congregational churches of 
Connecticut to the civil government, and to popular education 
and social reforms ; one of these discourses to cover the period 
preceding the declaration of independence ; the other, the period 
subsequent to that event. 

Rev. Leonard Bacon was appointed to deliver the first of these 
discourses, and Rev. Myron N. Morris, the second. 

At the ninth annual meeting of the General Conference, con- 
vened in the First church. New Haven, November 14, 1876, a 
committee of the General Association presented an overture relat- 
ing to a paper on the ministers of Connecticut in the revolution, 
and it was 

Resolved^ That the General Conference will accept and publish 
the paper on the ministers of Connecticut in the revolution, pre- 
pared under the direction of the General Association, and offered 
to us by a committee of that body. 

On Tuesday evening, November 14, Rev. Leonard Bacon deliv- 
ered a historical discourse, and on Wednesday evening, November 
15, Rev. Myron N. Morris delivered a historical discourse, thus 
fulfilling the appointments made for them by the General Con- 
ference in 1875. 

On Thursday evening, November 16, the last evening of the 
annual meeting, by an arrangement of the Standing Committee, 
several brief addresses were given upon assigned topics, including 
one by Rev. Joseph Anderson, and one by Prof. Cyrus Northrop. 

The printing committee, under instructions from the General 
Conference, decided to group, in one bound volume, the paper 
accepted from the General Association, the discourses of Messrs. 
Bacon and Morris, and the addresses of Messrs. Anderson and 
Northrop, with an index prepared by the Registrar of the General 
Conference, and to issue and distribute fifteen hundred copies of 
the book. 

WILLIAM H. MOORE, Registrar. 

Hartford, June 15, 1877. 



coiNrTEisrTs. 



L The Ministers of Coxkecticut in the Revolution: 

By Eev. William Cliaiincey Fowler, - - - 1-144 

Preface, .--.-.. 2 

Introductoiy Statement, ----- 3_3i 

Statements by Members of the Committee, and others, - 31-88 

Concluding Statements, ----- 89-102 

Appendix, A— M, - - - - - - 103-144 

II. The Relations of the Congregational Churches of 

Connecticut to Civil Government, and to 
Popular Education and Soci-\l Reforms: 

By Rev. Leonard Bacon, - . - - 145-170 

Relations to Civil Government, - - - - 145-166 

Popular Education, - - - - 166-169 

Social Reforms, - - - - 169-170 

III. Historical Discourse: 

By Rev. Myron N. Morris, . . - - 171-192 

IV. The Growth of a Christian Literature: 

By Rev. Joseph Anderson, - - - - 193-201 

Y. The Influence of New England Ideas on the His- 
tory OF the Country: 
By Prof. Cyrus Northrop, . . - - 202-206 

Index, .-----.. 207-214 



THE 

Ministers of Connecticut 



IN 



THE REVOLUTION 



the; 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE 



APrOINTED IJY THE 



GENERAL ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT, 



J b ?' 



BY ^^ 

WM. CHAUNCEY FOWLER, LL.D. 



V? 



" A vestal state, which power could not subdue, 
Nor promise win — like her own eagle's nest. 
Sacred — the San Marino of the west." 

— Halleck. 



HARTFORD: 

Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company. 

1877. 



PREFACE. 



At the meeting of the General Association in Danbury, 
June i6, 1875, the following committee was appointed "On 
the Ministers of Connecticut in the Revolution," namely : 
Leonard Bacon, Henry Jones, Dennis Piatt, Leverett Griggs, 
Samuel Rockwell, William Thompson, Adam Reid, John 
Churchill, Anson C. Beach, William C Fowler, Joel Mann, 
Hiram P. Arms, Abram Marsh, Joseph Ayer. 

Leonard Bacon was made chairman of this committee. 

At the meeting of the General Association at Norwalk, 
June 20, 1876, the committee of 1875, "On the Ministers of 
Connecticut in the Revolution," presented a report, which 
was accepted and discussed, and it was 

Resolved^ That William C. Fowler is hereby instructed, in 
conference with the registrar, to condense the materials pre- 
sented, and publish them in the Minutes, or, if too voluminous, 
in some religious periodical, or in any manner that may seem 
to them advisable. 



INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT. 



THE MINISTERS OF CONNECTICUT IN THE REVOLUTION. 

If we would take a correct view of the " Ministers of Con- 
necticut in the Revolution," it is necessary to look at the 
historical position of the Order, both before and after that 
era ; just as in viewing an object with the bodily eye, it is 
necessary to look at the field of vision in which that object is 
placed. 

The earliest ministers of Connecticut, in learning, general 
intelligence, good manners, and Christian graces, were supe- 
rior to the congregations that followed them into these parts. 
Society being then in its elements, they very naturally, in the 
new order of things then instituted, had the pre-eminence. 
The universal cry of the people was, ''To the worthiest!" 
To the ministers, therefore, as the worthiest, the leadership 
of the people was given. One of these leaders. Rev. Samuel 
Stone of Hartford, described Congregationalism as a *' speak- 
ing aristocracy in the face of a silent democracy !' 

In the " Assembly of Divines' Catechism " is the following 
question and answer : *' What is required in the fifth com- 
mandment .'' The fifth commandment requireth the preserv- 
ing the honor, and performing the duties belonging to every 
one in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferi- 
ors, or equals." 

They continued to be leaders of the people from 1636 
down to 1776, during the Revolution and afterwards, because 
they continued to be superior to them in learning, general 
intelligence, good manners, and Christian virtues. They had 
that kncKvledge which is power, and that goodness which is 
wisdom, for using the power for noble ends. 

In Roman Catholic England, down into the reign of Henry 
the VIII, the people distributed large measures of veneration 



and love to popes, cardinals, bishops, and the inferior clergy. 
In Protestant Episcopal England, during the reign of Eliza- 
beth and James I, and afterwards, the people distributed 
veneration and love to archbishops, rectors, and deacons. In 
Puritan Connecticut, the people of the several congregations 
concentrated their veneration and love upon their own minis- 
ter, as the accredited " ambassador for Christ," and clothed 
with his authority. 

The earUest ministers were educated in the best institu- 
tions of learning in England. After they passed off the 
stage of human action, the ministers succeeding them re- 
ceived their education at Harvard College for sixty years or 
more, and subsequently to 1700, generally at Yale College. 

An examination of the history of the times would show 
how it was that the " Ministers of Connecticut in the Revolu- 
tion " should be much the same in principles and character, 
as the ministers of Connecticut had been from 1776 back 
to. 1636, when the first English settlers established themselves 
at Wethersfield, Hartford, and Windsor. Within that period 
most of those who were destined for the pulpit pursued classi- 
cal studies, at first under some minister, with whom they 
were fitted for college, and afterwards in the college founded 
by the ministers. Under the guidance of the older ministers, 
many of them studied the same text books in theology, and 
when settled in the ministry pursued the same course of in- 
struction with their people that the older ministers did. 

The ministers of Connecticut were strongly inclined to 
educate their own successors in the ministry. They were not 
disposed to permit tramps in the highways and by-ways, or 
religious squatters and gypsies to establish themselves on 
the public domain. It was a beautiful custom among the 
churches of Connecticut that when a minister died, his place 
was supplied for a number of Sabbaths by the members of 
the Association. These visits were like balm to the bereaved 
hearts of the wife and family, if there were any, and it gave 
the Association an opportunity of knowing what was the 
condition of the parish, and enabled the committee of the As- 
sociation, appointed for the purpose, to recommend a suitable 



5 

candidate to the destitute church for settlement. In this 
way it often happened that the Association could fill its own 
vacancies with men of its own stamp, and thus promote a uni- 
formity of faith and practice. From President Dwight we have 
this statement. See Travels, vol. iv, p. 413 : "The progress 
of every clergyman in the State of Connecticut until he ar- 
rives at the desk, is the following : 

" From infancy to manhood his whole character is sub- 
jected to the inspection of his parents, of his school-master, of 
the parish in which he is born and bred, of the government, 
of the college in which he is educated, of the church to which 
he is united, and of the clergyman by whom he is instructed 
in theology. The inspection of the parish is here a serious 
object ; for in no country is personal character so minutely 
scrutinized, or so well known, as in Connecticut. After his 
preparatory studies in theology are ended, he is licensed to 
preach ; and whenever he finds a congregation sufficiently 
pleasing to him to render his settlement in it desirable, he is 
ordained, and has the congregation committed to his care. 
During every part of this progress he is subjected to a series 
of strict examinations concerning his character, conduct, and 
improvements." 

Again, see idem, p. 420 : 

" The clergy of Connecticut have no power, but they have 
much influence — an influence which every sober man must 
feel to be altogether desirable in every community. It is the 
influence of wisdom and virtue. Clergymen, here, are re- 
spected for what they are, and for what they do, and not for 
anything adventitious to themselves, or their office." 

During the long period of one hundred and forty years, all 
the ministers of Connecticut inherited their principles from 
the Puritans who arose in the reign of Queen Elizabeth ; but, 
in the application of these principles, they became more and 
more American, and less and less English. Thus Nathan 
Strong, of Hartford, in 1776, was less EngHsh and more 
American than Thomas Hooker in 1636. Thus, too, Chaun- 
cey Whittlesey, of New Haven, was less English and more 
American than John Davenport. Thus we see how it was 



that the ministers of Connecticut, at any one epoch, were one 
in habits and character, and how this oneness was transmit- 
ted from generation to generation, and how something of 
this oneness was extended to the whole population. This 
oneness was such that sometimes there seemed through the 
commonwealth to be a common sensorium, and common im- 
pressions on that sensorium, and common deductions from 
those impressions, and a common will to carry out these de- 
ductions into action. Thus the great problem of public unity 
of action was wrought out by the workings of individual 
minds. 

The people heard the same doctrines on the Sabbath, 
the same sort of instruction in all their public schools. Each 
Sabbath they all went to the house of God, which they filled, 
sometimes to overflowing, the young ones covering the pulpit 
stairs. On each day they rose with the early dawn, to say 
their prayers and to eat their breakfast in the " sweet hour 
of prime," and having labored during the day, they retired 
early to bed at the summons of the New England curfew 
bell. 

Their matins and vespers were not performed under the 
dome of some lofty cathedral, whose windows cast a " dim 
religious light " upon the worshipers, but under their own 
roof-tree, however humble, in the gray of the morning, 
or in the glimmering taper's light in the evening ; while the 
husband and father was the priest at the altar. Three times 
a day the family, at their meals, craved a blessing and re- 
turned thanks. Family religion was urged and promoted by 
the clergy, and was evidenced by the general and almost 
universal practice of the families. As the saint, the father 
and the husband prayed, the feelings of devotion were mingled 
with the finest of human affection. Pure-eyed faith, white- 
handed hope, and the unblemished form of charity were there, 
to reveal the mansion reserved for that family in their 
Father's house in the heavens, to point them to the seat re- 
served for each, and to be themselves the companions on 
their way thither. 

In the temple worship, under the Mosaic dispensation. 



there was in the Holy of HoHes the Shekinah, or visible 
brightness or presence of God. At the family altar, under 
the Christian dispensation, " a glory gilds the sacred page, 
majestic like the sun." In the former dispensation the high 
priest beheld the Shekinah once a year. In the latter, that 
" glory " can be seen by the family priest every day in the 
year. 

These family attachments culminated at the annual Thanks- 
giving, when descendants returned to the house of the patri- 
arch from their several homes in the neighborhood, number- 
ing sometimes three generations. The Puritan settlers of 
New England substituted Thanksgiving for the Christmas of 
" merry England," as a family institution. They sometimes 
reinforced the usual feast with the turkey, an American bird : 
replacing the mince pies with pumpkin pies, and the wassail 
bowl with the mug of flip with its high head of foam ; some- 
times closing ofl" the festive week on Saturday night with 
the American dish, celebrated by Barlow in his sprightly 
poem, entitled " Hasty Pudding." 

Their town-meetings, "proxies," or freemen's meetings, 
and other public gatherings, were opened with prayer by the 
minister. The population could rest securely with unbarred 
doors. Thus we see how it happened that Connecticut for a 
long time was known as " the land of steady habits." 

These '* steady habits " resulted from the teachings of min- 
isters, or from the institutions and books approved by them. 
Under their leadership district schools were established. 
They examined the teachers ; they recommended the books 
to be used, and they visited the schools from time to time. 

Each school was a little world in itself, in which laws were 
made, rewards bestowed, and punishments inflicted. The 
youth, here, could learn to see the workings in each other's 
hearts as distinctly as they could see the flash of light in the 
eye, and the flush of blood in the cheek. They read the 
New England Primer, with its rude cuts, its curt, solemn 
sayings, and its doctrinal catechism. At home, some of them 
read Poor Richard's Almanac, inspired by Benjamin Frank- 
lin, and learned its homely and prudent maxims. At fune- 



8 

rals, large numbers went to the graveyard, the " school of 
mortality," so called by Watts, to learn the lessons of virtue 
from the great teacher, Death. The solitary wanderer, too, 
would often visit the same school, to see the quaint devices, 
and read the short inscriptions, and then to lay his offering 
on the " cold turf altar of the dead," thus preparing himself 
to transmit to the future what is venerable in the past. 

It should also be remembered that ministers were eminently 
instrumental in establishing town libraries, in which valuable 
standard works of the best English authors were placed for 
the use of those of their congregations who could relish them. 
These libraries were of the greatest service in promoting a 
high tone of thought and sentiment among the people. 

If we could go back by a single bound to the period of the 
Revolution, or if one of the actors in the scenes of that 
period could rise from the dead, we could know more fully 
what the ministers of Connecticut were in the Revolution. 
Indeed, if some of us sixty or seventy years ago had opened 
our ears and our minds, as we might have done, to actors in 
those scenes, that were then living, we might do better justice 
to those ministers. Social life was then rife with Revolu- 
tionary traditions. The events of the war of the Revolution 
furnished the staple for conversation in families and at public 
gatherings. The old soldier had a hearty welcome, whether 
he described dangers and defeat to which he had been ex- 
posed, or '* shouldered his crutch and showed how fields were 
won." Revolutionary stories cheered the labors of the field, 
and Revolutionary songs were sung by the young maiden to 
her step, as she turned the spinning-wheel. Where are now 
those actors and those narrators ? *' Gone, glimmering 
through the dream of things that were." Their traditionary 
voices, once so clear and strong, are now, if not hushed into 
silence, prolonged only by faint echoes. 

• The ministers of Connecticut were not parasites on the 
body politic. They were not like the mistletoe, which derives 
its support from the oak, and contributes nothing in return. 
They were not like the leech on the human body, which 
gorges itself at the expense of that body. They were, on the 



other hand, an organic part of the body politic. They were 
eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. They were the 
teachers and shepherds of the people. 

I have spoken of the principles of the English Puritans. 
Hume, the historian of England, in his 4th volume, uses the 
following language : " So absolute, indeed, was the authority 
of the crown, that the precious spark of liberty had been 
kindled, and was preserved by the Puritans alone ; and it was 
to this sect, whose principles appear so frivolous, and habits 
so ridiculous, that the English owe the whole freedom of their 
constitution." 

The Puritans who came to New England brought in their 
censers this fire, which was afterwards to spread over a con- 
tinent. 

Thomas Hooker and his followers, who settled on the 
banks of the long river in 1636, brought with them discontent 
with the ecclesiastical and civil government of England, and 
a strong desire to frame an ecclesiastical and civil govern- 
ment of their own, under which they could make their own 
local laws. Liberty, in their estimation, consisted in local 
self-government. The same is true of John Davenport, and 
those who settled on the shores of the broad sound. 

When the two colonies were united under the charter of 
1662, there continued to be the same love of local law and 
local self-government, and the same dislike of imperial law 
and of the government of Great Britain as before. 

EXTRACTS FROM THE CHARTER. 

The inhabitants of this colony " shall have and enjoy all 
liberties and immunities of free and natural subjects within 
any of the dominions of us, our heirs or successors, to all in- 
tents, constructions, and purposes whatsoever, as if they and 
every of them were born within the realm of England. 
And also from time to time to make, ordain and establish 
all manner of wholesome and reasonable laws, statutes, ordi- 
nances, directions and instructions, not contrary to the laws 
of this realm of England, as well for settling the forms and 
ceremonies of government and magistracy, fit and necessary 
2 



for the said plantation and the inhabitants there, as for 
naming and styUng all sorts of officers, both superior and in- 
ferior, which they shall find needful for the government and 
plantation of the said colony, and distinguishing and setting 
forth of several duties, powers, and limits of every such office 
and place, and the forms of such oaths, not being contrary to 
the laws and statutes of this our realm of England, to be ad- 
ministered for the execution of the said several offices and 
places." Thus the colony of Connecticut could claim all the 
rights of native-born Englishmen, and all the additional rights 
conferred by the charter. The laws made by the colony were 
subject to this limitation, namely, that they must " not be con- 
trary to the laws of England." By the charter, the laws of 
England were paramount to the local laws of the colony. In 
practice, the laws of the colony were regarded by the colo- 
nists as paramount to the laws of England. 

The emigrant ministers from England to Connecticut, and 
their successors, found their love of liberty increasing rather 
than diminishing from generation to generation. The liberty 
which they tasted in the New World gave them an appetite 
for more. In this " wilderness of free minds," far removed 
from the inspecting eye of the mother country, their hopes 
of obtaining more grew stronger. Besides being educated 
in the Greek and Roman classics, which inspire the young 
student with a love of liberty, they were, many of them, while 
in professional life, familiar with the best writings of the 
English Puritans. They read more or less of Milton, the 
great Puritan poet, and they found in their experience, that 
"books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a 
potency of life in them, to be as active as that soul whose 
progeny they are." From him they caught something of 
his burning hatred of tyranny. 

His hatred of tyranny was such that he put the tyrant in 
the same category with the devil, " and, with necessity, the 
tyrant's plea excused his devilish deeds." 

Such was his hatred of personal government, or arbitrary 
power, that he speaks of it as " the foul fiend discretion." 

They studied Locke, the great apostle of liberty, in his 



II 

day, with the same admiring spirit in which Dr. Watts de- 
scribes him in his lyric poems : 

" Locke has a soul wide as the sea, 
Calm as the night, bright as the day, 
There may my vast ideas play, 
Nor feel a thought confined." 

They read with enthusiasm the works of Dr. Watts, who, in 
one of his poems, could say, 

" My soul can ne'er comport 
With the gay slaveries of a court ; 
I've an aversion to those charms. 
And hug dear Liberty in both mine arms." 

It is remarkable that from the first to the last, while they 
were jealous of Parliament, the law-making power, they pro- 
fessed to entertain affection and loyalty for the king. King 
Charles II had granted the colony a very liberal charter, in 
which they rejoiced. In the correspondence between the 
king and the colonial legislature, there appears to be only 
mutual kindness and good-will. Thus, between that legisla- 
ture and Charles II, William and Mary, William III, Queen 
Anne, and some of the Georges, the correspondence appears 
to have been entirely satisfactory on both sides. 

The following is a specimen of that correspondence : 

A Letter from His Majesty Charles II, to the Governor and Council of 
the Colony of Connecticut, April lo, 1666.- 

" Trusty and well beloved, we greet you well, having rec'd see full and 
satisfactory an account from our commissioners, both of the good re- 
ception you have given them, and also of your dutif uUness and obedience 
to us, we cannot but let you know how much we are pleased therewith, 
judging that respect of yours towards our officers, to be the true and 
naturall fruit which demonstrates what fidelity and affection towards us 
is rooted in your hearts, and although your carriage doth of itself most 
justly deserve our prayse and approbation, yet it seems to be sett off 
with the more lustre, by the contrary deportment of the Colony of the 
Massachusetts, as if by their refractorinesse they had designed to recom- 
mend and heighten the merit of your complyance with our directions, for 
the peacable and good government of our subjects in those parts." 

The following is an exact copy from Hinman's Antiquities 
of Connecticut, p. 366 : 



12 

Anno Regni Regis Georgii tertii i^th. 

At a General Assembly of the Governor and Company of the English 
Colony of Connecticut in New England in America, holden at New 
Haven in said Colony on the second Thursday of October, being the 
13th day of said month and continued by several adjournments to the 
fourth day of November next following Annoq. Dom. 1774. 

By the House of Representatives of the English Colony of Connecti- 
cut, second Thursday of May 1774. 

This House taking into serious consideration sundry acts of the Brit- 
ish Parliament in which the power and right to impose duties and taxes 
upon His Majesties subjects in the British Colonies and Plantations in 
America, for the purpose of raising a Revenue only, are declared, at- 
tempted to be exercised and in various ways enforced and carried into 
execution, and especially a very late act, in which pains and penalties 
are inflicted on the capital of a neighboring Province, a precedent justly 
allarming to every British Colony in America, and which being admitted 
and established, their lives, liberties and properties are at the mercy of a 
Tribunal where innocence may be punished upon the accusation and 
evidence of wicked men without defence and even without knowing its 
accusers, a precedent calculated to terrify them into silence and sub- 
mission, whilst they are stripped of their invaluable rights and liberties, 
do think it expedient and their duty at this time to renew their claim to 
the rights, privileges and immunities of free born Englishmen, to which 
they are justly entitled, by the laws of nature, by the Royal Grant and 
Charter of his late Majesty King Charles the second, and by long and 
uninterrupted possession, and thereupon do declare and Resolve as fol- 
lows to wit — 

In the first place we do most expressly declare, recognize and ac- 
knowledge His Majesty George the Third to be the lawful and rightful 
King of Great Britain and all other his dominions and countries, and 
that it is the indispensable duty of the people of this Colony, as being 
part of his Majesties dominions, always to bear faithful and true allegi- 
ance to his Majesty, and him to defend to the utmost of their power 
against all attempts upon his person, crown and dignity. 

2. That the subjects of his Majesty in this Colony ever have had, and 
of right ought to have and enjoy all the liberties, immunities and privi- 
leges of free and natural born subjects, within any of the dominions of 
our said King, his heirs and successors, to all intents, constructions 
and purposes whatsoever as fully and amply, as if they and every of 
them were born within the realm of England, that they have a property 
in their own estate, and are to be taxed by their own consent only, given 
in person or by their Representatives, and are not to be disseized of 
their liberties or free customs, sentenced or condemned, but by lawful 
judgment of their Peers, and that the said rights and immunities are 
recognized and confirmed to the inhabitants of this Colony by the Royal 



13 

Grant and Charter aforesaid, and are their undoubted rights to all in- 
tents, constructions and purposes whatsoever. 

3. That the only lawful Representatives of the Freemen of this 
Colony, are the persons they elect to serve as members of the General 
Assembly thereof. 

4. That it is the just right and privilege of His Majesties leige sub- 
jects of this Colony to be Governed by their General Assembly in the 
article of taxing and internal police, agreeable to the powers and privi- 
leges recognized and confirmed in the Royal Charter aforesaid, which 
they have enjoyed for more than a century past, and have neither for- 
feited nor surrendered, but the same have been constantly recognized 
by the King and Parliament of Great Britain. 

5. That the erecting new and unusual courts of Admiralty, and vest- 
ing them with extraordinary powers above, and not subject to the con- 
troll of the common law courts in this Colony, to judge and determine 
in suits relating to the duties and forfeitures contained in said acts, for- 
eign to the accustomed and established jurisdiction of the former courts 
of Admiralty in America, is in the opinion of this House, highly danger- 
ous to the liberties of his Majesty's American subjects, contrary to the 
great Charter of English liberty, and destructive of one of their most 
darling rights ; that of tryal by Jurors, which is justly esteemed one 
chief excellence of the British constitution, and a principal bulwark of 
English liberty. 

6. That the apprehending and carrying persons beyond the sea to be 
tryed for any crime alleged to be committed within this Colony in a sum- 
mary way without a jury, is unconstitutional and subversive of the liber- 
ties and rights of the free subjects of this Colony. 

7. That any Harbors or Ports duly opened and constituted cannot be 
shut up and discharged but by an act of the Legislature of the Province 
or Colony on which such Port or Harbor is situated without subverting 
the rights and hberties and destroying the property of his Majesty's 
subjects. 

8. That the late act of Parliament inflicting pains and penalties on 
the town of Boston by blocking their harbor is a precedent justly alarm- 
ing to the British colonies in America, and wholly inconsistent with, and 
subversive of their constitutional rights and liberties. 

9. That whenever his Majesties service shall require the aid of the 
inhabitants of this Colony, the same fixed principles of Loyalty, as well 
as self preservation which have hitherto induced us fully to comply with 
His Majesties requisitions, together with the deep sense we have of its 
being our indispensable duty, in the opinion of this House, will ever 
hold us under the strongest obligations which can be given or desired 
most cheerfully to grant His Majesty, from time to time, our further 
proportion of men and money, for the defence, protection, security and 
other services of the British American dominions. 

10. That we look upon the well being and greatest security of this 



14 

Colony to. depend (under God) on our connections with Great Britain 
which is ardently wished may continue to the latest posterity ; and that 
it is the humble opinion of this House, that the constitution of this Col- 
ony being understood and practiced upon as it has ever since it existed 
till very lately, is the surest bond of union, confidence and mutual pros- 
perity of our mother country and us, and the best test foundation on 
which to build the good of the whole, whether considered in a civil, 
military or mercantile light ; and of the truth of this opinion, we are the 
more confident, as it is not founded on speculation only, but has been 
verified in fact, and by long experience found to produce according to 
our extent and other circumstances, as many loyal, virtuous, industrious 
and well governed subjects as any part of his Majesty's dominions, and 
as truly zealous, and as warmly engaged to promote the best good and 
real glory of the grand whole, which constitutes the British empire. 

II. That it is an indispensible duty which we owe to our King, our 
Country, ourselves and our posterity, by all lawful ways and means in 
our power, to maintain, defend and preserve these our rights and liber- 
ties, and to transmit them entire and inviolate to the latest generations, 
and that it is our fixed, determined and unaltered resolution faithfully 
to discharge this our duty. 

In the Lower House the foregoing resolutions being read distinctly, 
three several times and considered, were voted and passed with great 
unanimity ; and it is further voted and requested by this House, that 
the same be entered on the records and remain on the files of the Gen- 
eral Assembly of this Colony. 

Test : Williams, Clerk, H. R. 

In the Upper House the consideration of the request of the Lower 
House, that the aforesaid resolutions should be entered on the records 
of the Assembly &c., is referred to the General Assembly to be holden 
at New Haven, on the second Thursday of October next. 

Test : George Wyllys, Secretary. 

In the Upper House on further consideration, &c., it is agreed and 
consented to, that the foregoing resolutions, according to the request of 
the Lower House be entered on the records, and remain on the files of 
the General Assembly of this colony. 

Test : George Wyllys, Secretary. 

This document, dated November 4, 1 774, shows what were 
the views and temper of the colony at that time, which was 
only one year and eight months before the Declaration of 
Independence was published to the world. 



15 

If the colonists of Connecticut opened the Bible, whether 
in the house of God or at home, they found that they owed 
this translation to King James I, " the principal mover and 
author thereof." In the text they saw the two com- 
mands, side by side, " Fear God ; Honor the King." They 
saw on the title-page, emblazoned, the armorial bearings of 
Great Britain, with the grand motto Dieu et inon droit ; Hojii- 
soit qui ntal y pens e. God and my right; evil to him who 
evil thinks. If their favorite lyric poet, Dr. Watts, could eu- 
logize King William and Queen Anne in the highest strains 
of his verse, as he does in the lyric poems then read by all 
the ministers and most of the people, we need not feel sur- 
prised that those ministers should eulogize them in speaking 
to their people. In the house of God prayers for the king 
and the royal family went up from the public altar. The 
king's name was connected with many of the forms of law 
and the king's attorney in Connecticut had his appropriate 
duties. 

The ministers, then accustomed to study carefully the his- 
tory of England, looked back to the time when the earth 
trembled beneath the tread of the bold crusaders under the 
lion-hearted King Richard, who went to Palestine to wrest 
the holy sepulcher from the Saracens ; to the " foughten 
fields " of Cressy, Poictiers, and Agincourt, where, under the 
conduct of kings and princes of England, the pride of France 
was humbled, and where the bones of their own ancestors 
were now lying with the named and nameless dead ; or they 
might look, with softened hearts, to the church-yards of Eng- 
land, where their ancestors were reposing beneath the 
shadows of minsters and cathedrals, in which they once 
worshiped God. Some of them might have been accus- 
tomed every day at family prayers to send up supplications 
to the King of Kings, for a blessing on the king of England 
and the royal family, or perhaps some of them might every 
day have seen, in their own parlors, pictures of some of the 
royal family. The very coin used as a circulating medium 
from hand to hand, bore on it the image and superscription 
of the king. 



i6 

Under the influence of recollections and impressions like 
these, some of them may have shrunk back in pain at the 
idea of a political separation from England, their mother 
country. " The flesh will quiver where the pincers tear." 

It ought to be added that in Connecticut there was a con- 
siderable number of intelligent and worthy men, and some of 
these were Congregational ministers, who, from the first to 
the last, were loyal to the English king, and opposed to the 
Revolution, which separated Connecticut and the other colo- 
nies from England. 

Until a short period before 1776, the people of Connecticut 
generally neither expected nor desired a political separation 
from England. Proof of this we have in the foregoing legis- 
lative document. What was the cause of the general move- 
ment in favor of the Revolution in i j'j^ ? It was a generous 
fellow-feeling for Massachusetts. If, then, it should be in- 
sinuated that Connecticut trotted after the " Bay horse," it 
might be said in reply, that the interests of Connecticut were 
so allied with the interests of Massachusetts, that if the latter 
should be left unassisted to be prostrated in the dust, the 
former might be the next victim of ministerial vengeance. 

Whenever there is public danger, every Christian people, 
under the lead of their best men, should fly to the All-wise, 
the All-good, and the All-powerful for deliverance. 

The people of Connecticut, from 1636 to 1783, under the 
lead of their ministers, in seasons of danger, sought Him who 
controls the destinies of nations, and who led Israel by the 
pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night. Es- 
pecially was this true from 1775, when the fires of revolution 
on the fields of Lexington and Bunker Hill ascended to the 
skies, shedding a lurid light over this quarter of the world, 
to 1783, when, by treaty, the king of England acknowledged 
Connecticut to be, what she claimed to be, a " free and inde- 
pendent state." 

It is to be remembered that, during the French Wars, for 
a period before the Revolution, the Connecticut officers and 
Connecticut troops were associated with British officers and 
British troops in a common cause against the French. In 



17 

this cause they were successful ; and as a fruit of their suc- 
cess the whole of Canada was ceded by the French to the 
English in 1763, by the treaty of Paris. Connecticut came 
in for her share of the glory acquired by England in these 
wars. Among the officers who distinguished themselves in 
these wars, were Major-General Phinehas Lyman, Colonel 
Israel Putnam, Colonel Nathaniel Whiting, Colonel Samuel 
Holden Parsons, Colonel Eliphalet Dyer, General Joseph 
Spencer, General Roger Wolcott, Colonel Elihu Chauncey, 
and others. 

It is also to be remembered that Connecticut, in common 
with the other colonies, had warm and strong friends in the 
British Parliament, who were ready to defend the constitu- 
tional rights of the Americans, but were opposed to their 
political separation from the mother country. 

The sentiments in favor of royalty filled the hearts of the 
people, and phrases of loyalty were familiar to their lips. 
These feelings were experienced and this language expressed, 
sometimes even after the war was over, as may be seen from 
the following anecdote : 

" A boy in the town of Lebanon heard that General Wash- 
ington was to pass that way, and went out to meet him, as he 
supposed, at the head of his army. Instead of that, he met a 
man alone, on horseback, of whom he inquired if General 
Washington was coming. The General replied, ' I am the 
man.' In astonishment, the boy, not knowing what to do or 
say, pulled off his hat, and with great violence threw it at the 
feet of the horse, running back at the same time at full speed, 
and crying at the top of his voice, " God Almighty bless your 
Majesty!" (See Family Memorial, by Rev. Dan. Hunting- 
ton, p. 6.) 

The American Stamp Act was passed by the British Parlia- 
ment in 1765. The people of the colony were opposed to the 
Stamp Act, but the Governor and Legislature were not dis- 
posed to take very strong ground against it. " Rev. Stephen 
Johnson, of Lyme, seeing with pain the dangerous lethargy 
that had lulled the judges to sleep, and had taken stronghold 
of the council, began to write essays for the Connecticut Ga- 

3 



i8 

zette, printed in New London, which he sent secretly to the 
printer by the hands of an Irish gentleman who was friendly 
to the cause of liberty." * * '< Other clergymen took up 
the warfare. They impugned the Stamp Act in their ser- 
mons ; they classed its loathed name in their prayers with 
those of sin, Satan, and the mammon of unrighteousness. 
The people were soon roused to a sense of danger. The 
flames of opposition, so long suppressed, now began to break 
forth. The name of " Sons of Liberty," given by Colonel 
Barre to the Americans, was adopted by the press, and sent 
to every part of the country. Societies, originating, as is be- 
lieved, in Connecticut, and made up of men the most bold, if 
not the most responsible in the land, were suddenly formed, 
for the express, though secret, purpose of resisting the Stamp 
Act by violent means, should it become necessary. The 
members of these associations were called "Sons of Liberty." 
The principal business reserved for them was that of com- 
pelling stamp masters and other officials to resign their 
places. They were also to see that no stamps were sold in 
the colony, and that all stamped paper should be taken where- 
ever it could be found. This powerful institution soon ex- 
tended itself into New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, 
and New Jersey." (See Hollister's History of Connecticut, 
vol. ii, p. 130—1.) 

Such was the strong opposition made to the Stamp Act in 
the colonies, that Parliament repealed it in 1766. 

" When the tidings of the ' Boston Port Bill ' reached Con- 
necticut in May, 1774, the General Assembly was in session. 
A day of humiliation and prayer was ordered, on account of 
the threatening aspects of Divine Providence, on the liberties 
of the people, that they might call upon ' the God of all mer- 
cies to avert His judgments.' " (See Hollister,vol. ii, p. 152.) 

On this day of humiliation and prayer it was, doubtless, 
expected by the General Assembly that the ministers would 
address their people in strong terms in favor of liberty, and in 
opposition to the tyrannical encroachments of England. 



19 

"DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

" Act of Connecticut, June i/^fk, 1776. 

"At a General Assembly of the Governor and Company of the English 
Colony of Connecticut in New England in America, holden at Hartford, 
in said Colony, by special order of the Governor, on the 14th day of 
June, A. Dom., 1776. 

" Whereas the King and Parliament of Great Britain, by many acts of 
said Parliament have claimed and attempted to exercise powers incom- 
patible with, and subversive of the ancient, just, and constitutional rights 
of this and the rest of the English Colonies in America, and have re- 
fused to listen to the many and frequent, humble, decent and dutiful 
petitions of redress of grievances and restoration of such their rights 
and liberties, and turning from them with neglect and contempt to sup- 
port such claims, after a series of accumulated wrong and injury, have 
proceeded to invade said Colonies with Fleets and Armies, to destroy 
our towns, shed the blood of our countrymen, and involve us in the 
calamities incident to war ; and are endeavoring to reduce us to an ab- 
ject surrender of our natural and stipulated rights, and subject our 
property to the most precarious dependence on their arbitrary will and 
pleasure, and our persons to slavery, and at length have declared us out 
of the King's protection, have engaged foreign mercenaries against us, 
and are evidently and strenuously seeking our ruin and destruction. 

" These and many other transactions, too well known to need enumera- 
tion : the painful experience and effects of which we have suffered and 
feel, make it e\ddent, beyond the possibility of a doubt, that we have 
nothing to hope from the justice, humanity or temperate councils of the 
British King or his Parliament, and that all hopes of a reconciliation, 
upon just and equal terms, are delusory and vain. In this state of ex- 
treme danger, when no alternative is left us but absolute and indefinite 
submission to such claims as must terminate in the extreme of misery 
and wretchedness, or a total separation from the King of Great Britain, 
and renunciation of all connection with that nation, and a successful re- 
sistance to that force which is intended to effect our destruction. Ap- 
pealing to that God who knows the secrets of all hearts, for the sincerity 
of former declarations of our desire to preserve our ancient and consti- 
tutional relation to that nation, and protesting solemnly against their 
oppression and injustice, which have driven us from them, and com- 
pelled us to use such means as God in his providence hath put in our 
power, for our necessary defense and preservation — 

" Resolved unanimously by this Assembly, that the Delegates of this 
Colony in General Congress, be, and they are hereby instructed to pro- 
pose to that respectable body, to declare the United American Colonies, 
free and independent States, absolved from all allegiance to the King of 
Great Britain, and to give the assent of this Colony to such Declaration, 
when they shall judge it expedient and best, and to whatever means 



20 

may be tho't proper and necessary by the Congress, for forming foreign 
alliances, or any plan of operations for necessary and mutual defense : 
and also that they move and promote, as fast as may be convenient, a 
regular and permanent plan of union and confederation of the Colonies 
for the security and preservation of their just rights and liberties, and 
for mutual defense and security — saving that the administration of Gov- 
ernment and the power ought to be left and remain to the respective 
Colonial Legislatures ; and that such plan be submitted to the respec- 
tive Legislatures for their previous consideration and assent." 

Thus it appears that Connecticut, June 14th, 1776, virtually 
declared herself independent twenty days before the date of 
the formal Declaration of Independence, prepared by the 
Continental Congress. 

It is remarkable that she puts in the proviso at the close, 
namely, " that the administration of government and the 
power ought to be left and remain to the respective colonial 
legislatures ; and that such plan be submitted to the respec- 
tive legislatures for their previous consideration and assent." 

Connecticut proceeded firmly, but cautiously. 

I. We have already adverted to the influence of the min- 
isters in producing opposition to the Stamp Act, and thus 
producing its repeal by the British Parliament. In addition 
to what has been said, it should be borne in mind that the 
Governor of the State and the General Assembly did not en- 
courage the doings of the mob which compelled the stamp- 
master, Jared Ingersoll, to resign his office. The mob and 
its considerate doings may be accounted for by the supposi- 
tion that it grew out of the opposition of the ministers to the 
Stamp Act. 

So too, as already mentioned, "when the tidings of the 
'Boston Port Bill' reached Connecticut in May, 1774, the 
General Assembly ordered a day of humiliation and prayer, 
on which the ministers could address the people. 

" The Congregational ministers saw further into the de- 
signs of the British administration than the bulk of the 
colony, and by their publications and conversation increased 
and strengthened the opposition." (Gordon's Independence 
of America, vol. i, p. 168.) 

II. For a hundred and forty'years the ministers of Con- 



21 

necticut"^ had been educating the people in the family, in the 
church, in the common schools, sometimes in schools in their 
houses, and in Harvard and Yale Colleges, for the attainment 
and enjoyment of liberty. And, though the Declaration of 
Independence was made sooner, perhaps, than some of them 
expected, the people were not unprepared. Roger Sherman, 
a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was the deacon 
of a Congregational church in New Milford. William Wil- 
liams, another signer of that Declaration, was the son of a 
Congregational minister in Lebanon, a graduate of Harvard 
College, and himself a deacon of the church. Samuel Hunt- 
ington, another signer, was a member of the Congregational 
church in Norwich, and was " mouth to the people when des- 
titute of preaching." Oliver Wolcott was a member of the 
Congregational church in Litchfield, and a graduate of Yale 
College. Oliver Ellsworth, who took so prominent a part in 
framing the present Federal Constitution of the United States, 
was a graduate of New Jersey college, and, for a year, a stu- 
dent in theology. Deacon Roger Sherman, already men- 
tioned, was another framer of the Constitution. William 
Samuel Johnson, another framer of the Constitution, was 
the son of a minister, and a graduate of Yale College. 

Jonathan Trumbull was for several years a preacher of the 
gospel. From the adopted daughter of General Washington, 
I learned, in 1816, that the Christian idea entered into the 
mind of Washington when he often spoke of Governor Trum- 
bull as " Brother Jonathan." 

Major-General Israel Putnam was an exemplary member 
of the Congregational church. Major-General Samuel Holden 
Parsons, a graduate of Harvard College, was son of a Con- 
gregational minister of Connecticut, Major-General James 
Wadsworth was an earnest supporter of religious institutions, 
and a graduate of Yale College. Major-General David 
Wooster was a graduate of Yale College. Major-General Ja- 
bez Huntington was a graduate of Yale College. Silas Deane 
was a graduate of Yale College. 

Of the twenty-five members of the Continental Congress 
sent by Connecticut, twenty-one were graduates of some col- 



22 

lege, and seventeen of Yale College — reckoning from 1765 to 

1787. 

Another class of men should be mentioned, namely : Tim- 
othy Dwight, poet, chaplain in the army, and preacher ; John 
Trumbull, son of Governor Trumbull, a painter, and aide-de- 
camp of Washington ; John Trumbull, son of Rev. John 
Trumbull, and author of " McFingal ;" Joel Barlow, a gradu- 
ate of Yale College, poet, and chaplain in the army ; David 
Humphreys, a son of a minister, a graduate of Yale Col- 
lege, poet, diplomatist, and aide-de-camp of General Wash- 
ington. 

Another distinguished graduate of Yale College was 
Nathan Hale, the blessed martyr, who in standing face to 
face with death, could exclaim in the devotion of his patriot- 
ism, " I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my 
country." 

Besides these greater lights, there were lesser lights scat- 
tered throughout the whole colony. Indeed, every town had 
its own constellation, the leading star in which was generally 
the minister, while the other stars were the acting justice of 
the peace, the highest military officer of a train band, com- 
pany, or regiment, the lawyer, the doctor, and some teacher 
of a school. 

The whole people were, indeed, trained up by the minister 
and the leading laymen, to " know their rights, and knowing, 
dare maintain." 

HI. The ministers of Connecticut taught the people their 
political rights. 

When the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Jeffer- 
son, was published to the world, the ministers of Connecticut 
could feel the magic of his pen. The central doctrine of that 
instrument was as familiar to their minds as household words, 
though they had never before seen it expressed in such feli- 
citous terms as the following, namely : " That governments are 
instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the 
consent of the governed ; that, whenever any form of govern- 
ment becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the 
people to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying 



.23 

its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers 
in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their 
safety and happiness." They welcomed these words, for they 
contained in them, substantially, the justification of the colo- 
nists in what they had done for a hundred and forty years, to 
cast off the laws of England, and to be governed by their own 
local laws. 

This article in the Declaration was regarded as the articii- 
lus velstantis vel cadentis patrice. In their political creed 
this doctrine was the article on which Connecticut, their 
country, must stand or fall. The following quotation from a 
sermon delivered by Timothy Dwight, at Northampton, in 
1 78 1, shows not only what the distinguished author, but what 
clergymen in general, thought on this subject: 

" By this convulsion the world hath seen, for the first time, 
an extensive empire, founded on the only just basis, the free 
and general choice of its inhabitants. All others were 
founded in conquest and blood. Here, within a few years, 
the rights of human nature have been far more clearly un- 
folded than in any other age or country. Here constitutions 
of civil government have, for the first time, been formed, 
without an invasion of God's prerogative to govern his church, 
and without any civil establishments of religion." 

The ministers taught the people to believe what they them- 
selves believed, namely, that the people of Connecticut were 
qualified to choose their own form of government, and make 
their own laws. 

They also, during the Revolution, taught them that " the 
sins of Great Britain are, in degree, enormous, and in multi- 
tude innumerable," as Mr. Dwight declared them to be in the 
same sermon. 

IV. The ministers taught the people their political duties 
as well after, as before the new order of things. In their in- 
structions they often descended to great particularities in 
their statements. Thus, Dr. Goodrich, of Durham, a man of 
great ability, and yet of a very calm and composed mind, was 
accustomed to tell his people that it was their duty to support 
the war of the Revolution by their means, by their prayers. 



24 

with heart and hand ; and in what way they ought to do this. 
He would show how they ought to do this as parents, or 
children, as husbands or as wives, in office and out of office ; 
and having carried his people along with him, in full sympa- 
thy with himself, he would say : " Let the young woman re- 
fuse to give her heart and her hand to the young man who 
will not give his heart and his hand to the war for the inde- 
pendence of the states. Shame on him. He deserves no 
favor at your hands." 

An extract from a letter of General Greene, written in the 
year 1775, gives the feelings which greeted certain Connecti- 
cut men, who had returned home before the term of their en- 
listment had expired. (See Irving's Life of Washington, vol. 
ii, p. 109.) "The homeward bound warriors seem to have 
run the gauntlet along the road ; for their conduct on quit- 
ting the army drew upon them such indignation that they 
could hardly get any thing to eat on their journey ; and when 
they arrived at home they met with such a reception (to the 
credit of the Connecticut women be it recorded,) that many 
were soon disposed to return again to the camp." The wo- 
men on this occasion, seem to have been in sympathy with 
the feeling among the ministers. 

From the individuality of character for which the people 
of Connecticut have always been distinguished, it might be 
expected that there would be a considerable variety of opin- 
ion concerning the separation from the mother country. 
Some continued to feel loyalty towards the king, and 
openly professed this attachment to him. Others secretly in- 
dulged this feeling, though they moved along with the mass 
of the people in sustaining the measures that grew out of 
the Declaration of Independence. Some of the ministers 
themselves, probably, had some of the same feelings, and 
found it difficult to lay down rules of conduct that would be 
satisfactory to all their people. I have often heard it men- 
tioned, that the ministers of Connecticut showed great wis- 
dom in their public ministrations, and in their private conver- 
sation with the people of their charge ; and that to those 
who still continued to indulge feelings of loyalty toward the 



25 

king, they were gentle, "even as a nurse cherisheth her 
children." 

So patriotic were some of these ministers in their attach- 
ment to the cause of independence, yet so wise and gentle 
were they towards those that were suspected of loyalty, that 
loyalists, or tories, as they were called, were sent into Connec- 
ticut from the State of New York and elsewhere. 

Thus, they were sent to Lebanon, Hartford, Simsbury, 
Durham, Middletown, Saybrook, New London, Windham, 
Colchester, and other towns. 

In early life I was often informed that many wise and in- 
telligent men in Connecticut fully believed that the rupture 
between the colonies and Great Britain was premature, and 
that if there had been a wise delay, the sufferings of an eight 
years' war might have been avoided. I sometimes asked 
how long a delay would have been wise, and was told that 
fifty or sixty years would have made the colonies ripe and 
ready for independence. 

While the British were in possession of Long Island and 
the Sound, some of the people of Connecticut whose sympa- 
thies were with the English, or who were lukewarm in their 
cause of liberty, carried on what was called the Long Island 
trade, to supply the British with provisions. Fresh meat, 
chickens, eggs, turkeys, vegetables, etc., were secretly sent 
from the towns on, and near the Sound, and money was 
received in return. The temptation to engage in this trade 
was a strong one. The people had become tired of the barren 
leaves of Continental money, and glad to put into their 
pockets the golden fruit in the shape of coin, even though it 
bore the image and superscription of the British king. They 
would start, it may be, twenty miles back from the Sound, dis- 
pose of their truck at some place on the Sound, to those who 
were engaged in the trade, and get back, it may be, before the 
people were up the next morning. Some of the men would 
wink at this practice, when carried on by their sons or some 
of their neighbors. They were supplied in this way with 
brandy, or wine, and the women with tea. The ministers set 
their faces against this trade, and carried the community, 

4 



26 

generally, with them. One case could be cited in which a 
man living a few miles from the sea, was tried and excommu- 
nicated from the church, for selling a yoke of fat oxen to the 
commissary of the British fleet, which was then cruising in 
Long Island Sound. They earnestly encouraged enlist- 
ments, and all the measures adopted by the General As- 
sembly. 

An examination of facts would show clearly that the minis- 
ters of Connecticut educated the prominent men of the 
colony and of the State to bear their part honorably in the 
Revolution. 

Qui facit per aliuin^facit per se. 

The minister was the mentor, not only of the young Tele- 
machus, but of the wise Ulysses, and the industrious and 
prudent Penelope. When a young man wished to choose his 
profession, or go off to seek his fortune, he would come to 
the minister for advice. When his father wished to make a 
purchase of land, or to emigrate to the west, he would con- 
sult the minister. When his mother had a daughter who had 
been asked in marriage, she would consult the minister. The 
advice thus given was found to be candid and wise. The fol- 
lowing is a specimen : 

One of the parishioners of Dr. Goodrich, told him a long 
story about the injuries which he had received from a neigh- 
bor, and said to him : " Don't you think that he has done 
very wrong } " Dr. Goodrich replied : " I have lent you this 
ear (pointing to the one nearest the listener), and now I must 
lend your neighbor the other ear, before I express an opin- 
ion." He was so satisfied with the candor of Dr. Goodrich 
that he dropped the whole subject. 

There are certain religionists that seem to derive their re- 
ligion frorn solitude, " where heavenly pensive contemplation 
dwells, and ever rnusing melancholy reigns." This is not 
true of the religious people of ancient Connecticut, though 
most of them were in the habit of secret prayer, and of going 
out to meditate, like Isaac, at eventide, sometimes in the 
grave-yard. 

There is another sort of religionists that derive their re- 



ligion from contact with others, assembled in large crowds. 
Neither was this the religion of the ancient people of Con- 
necticut, though they enjoyed going to the house of God with 
the multitude that keep holy day. The religion of the people 
of Connecticut was to a large extent family religion, and the 
religion of the school and of the college. 

The great Father of all set the people of Connecticut in 
families — not in clubs of bachelors, not in circles of spinsters ; 
and as the young men married generally at the age of twenty- 
one, families rapidly increased, and ministerial influence kept 
pace with this increase. 

The colony of Connecticut was disposed to connect re- 
ligion with every important interest, and the ministers of 
religion with every important enterprise. These ministers, 
as Englishmen, were conservative, believing in the declara- 
tion, " Leges A7tglicB 7ioluinns mutari!' 

As Puritans they were progressive ; believing that fresh 
light was to break forth from the Scriptures, leading men to 
a more " excellent way." They had learned to labor and to 
wait for whatever was excellent. They labored to establish 
a college, and waited for this purpose something like sixty 
years, or two generations. They labored to establish an ec- 
clesiastical constitution, but they waited sixty years or more, 
until 1708, before they accomplished their purpose. The new 
divinity men labored to get rid of the practice of baptizing 
children, on their parents " owning the covenant," but they 
waited something like three generations before they could 
confine the practice of baptism to the children of parents in 
full communion. 

The average minister formed an early and strong attach- 
ment for the liberty to make local laws in the church and 
state. This precious liberty he long labored to win, and 
when his suit was denied by his political Laban, he was wil- 
ling to labor and to wait seven, or even twice seven years, to 
gain full possession of this, his beloved Rachel. 

Of this disposition of the colony to connect the ministers 
of religion with every important enterprise, we have an in- 
stance in the war against the Indians. 



28 

" A general court of Connecticut, held at Hartford, Octo- 
ber 14th, 1675, did nominate and appoint the Rev. Israel 
Chauncey to be the minister for the army, to go o'ut with 
Major Robert Treat in this present expedition." (Colonial 
Records, p. 267.) 

" This court did order Mr. Gershom Bulkeley to be im- 
proved in this present expedition, to be chyrurgeon to our 
army ; and also the said Mr. Bulkeley and Mr. Chauncey 
were ordained and impowered to be of the Council of War." 
(Colonial Records, p. 271.) 

It should be remembered that Mr. Chauncey was one of 
the founders of Yale College, and was offered the presidency 
of that institution, and Mr. Bulkeley was probably the most 
learned man of his time in Connecticut. 

So in regard to the execution of Miantonomoh, five elders 
in Massachusetts were consulted, and their opinion settled 
the matter that Miantonomoh should be put to death. 

So too, in the French wars, some of the ablest ministers of 
the colony were sent as chaplains. Among others, Rev. 
Elisha Williams, after he had been president of Yale College. 

In the war of the Revolution, I can easily believe that it 
was expected that the chaplains of the army would be con- 
sulted by the officers of the army on important points. 

When such men as Nathan Strong, Timothy Dwight, Joel 
Barlow, and Benj. Trumbull were appointed chaplains for the 
regiments of Connecticut, it must have been expected that 
they would have opinions on important matters, that they 
would express opinions, and that these opinions would have 
influence. The same might be said of Cotton Mather Smith, 
Ammi Ruhamah Robbins, Benj. Boardman, Abiel Leonard, 
Samu.el Wood, Stephen Johnson, Samuel Bird, John Eels, 
Nathaniel Eels, Samuel Wales, and others. 

It must have been expected that such men would have an 
influence as chaplains in the army, similar to what the pastors 
then had in the towns. 

What gave the ministers of Connecticut great influence 
with their people, was their thorough knowledge of the peo- 
ple. They were ordinarily acquainted with every man, wo- 



29 

man, and child often years of age, in the whole town. They 
knew the character of each, the weakness and the strength of 
each. If any individual was dangerously sick, it was the cus- 
tom to request public prayers for him on the Sabbath. On 
Monday the minister felt bound to visit the family thus af- 
flicted, when their hearts were affected by a lender concern 
for the sick member. If death entered the family, the minis- 
ter would often visit that family to offer consolation. If the 
ministers lived to an advanced age, they would, like the aged 
Nestor, have lived there through three generations of "artic- 
ulate-speaking men." If there was feasting and rejoicing in 
the family, the minister must be invited to share in its joys. 
If there was affliction and bereavement, the minister must be 
invited to share in the sorrows. It was the proper distribu- 
tion of truth among his people that gave to the minister his 
influence. He endeavored to give every one a portion in due 
season, and, in order to do that, he must know the wants of 
every one. It was not by throwing out great masses of truth, 
but by giving line upon line, and precept upon precept, here 
a little and there a little, that he moulded the hearts and lives 
of his people. 

What was true at all times, was very strikingly true, in 
several respects, during the war of the Revolution, when the 
common danger, and the common hopes and fears produced 
by the war, had bound minister and people together. 

It is to be considered that the great body of the people 
were agricultural, and that in the country towns the ministers 
cultivated farms, just as their people did. But besides this, 
the ministers received a salary from their people, and this 
salary, during the war, was paid in a depreciated currency, at 
a great pecuniary loss to the ministers. 

At the commencement of this statement it was mentioned 
that the ministers of Connecticut were distinguished in the 
community for their learning, their general intelligence, their 
good manners, and their Christian graces. These gifts they 
faithfully and successfully endeavored to communicate to 
their people. They were influential in establishing and sus- 
taining common schools, academies, and the glory of the com- 



30 

monwealth, Yale College. Many of them kept schools of a 
higher order, at which the youth in their own congregations, 
and from other places, could prepare for Harvard College, or 
for Yale, after that was founded. 

They promoted general intelligence in many of the towns, 
by the establishment of libraries, in which standard English 
books were to be found, and which were extensively read. 

They promoted good manners, or the minor morals, in the 
school, on the wayside, in the family, and in the house of 
God. 

It was the grand object of their professional life to promote 
the Christian graces among their people. 

Nor did they labor in vain. Under their culture the 
wilderness of 1636 blossomed like the rose in 1776. There 
was no commonwealth on this continent, or on the surface of 
the round earth, which, in proportion to its population, sur- 
passed Connecticut in the universality of education, in gen- 
eral intelligence, in family religion, and happiness. The 
ministers and their people could sit under the three vines, 
symbolized in the armorial bearings of the colony ; they 
could read the modest motto on those bearings, which as- 
cribes everything to God and nothing to man, Qui transtulit 
siistinet : they could look into the hall of legislation which 
was opened every May by a sermon from one of their num- 
ber ; they could look into the courts of justice, opened with 
prayer ; they could look into town meeting, and freeman's 
meeting, opened with prayer by the minister ; they could 
look into Yale College and the schools, which were religious 
institutions ; they could look into the churches, often crowded 
with worshipers on the Sabbath, and, in the fullness of their 
gratitude they could, with upturned eyes, in view of all these 
glories of the commonwealth, exclaim : What hath God 
wrought ! 

But afterwards, slips of these three vines took root else- 
where. From the hive of Connecticut swarms of workers 
went forth to the west, to the far west, to the great west, to 
plant there the institutions of their native State. 

About the year 1820, during the years of my tutorship in 



31 

Yale College, students would come from Ohio, especially 
from the Western Reserve, and enter the institution. After 
showing the " mettle of their pasture," Prof. Silliman would 
say, in his sprightly genial way, in reference to them and the 
locality from which they came : " Connecticut rediviva!'' 

And afterwards, even down to the present time, there has 
been many a hamlet, many a town, many a village, many a 
city, of which it might be said, Connecticut rediviva. 



STATEMENTS BY INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF 

THE COMMITTEE. 

Rev. Nathaniel Niles was born in South Kingston, 
R. I., April 3, 1 74 1 ; graduated at New Jersey college, 1766 ; 
studied theology with Dr. Bellamy ; preached in several places 
in New England ; was married to a Miss Lathrop in Nor- 
wich, where he resided a number of years ; afterwards re- 
moved to West Fairlee, Vt., where he was speaker of the 
General Assembly, member of Congress, judge of the Supe- 
rior Court, and author ; died October 31, 1828, at West Fair- 
lee, Vt. He was a gentleman of great worth, of various and 
decided talent ; a useful man, and greatly respected. While 
in Norwich in 1775, he wrote the following " Sapphic Ode," 
which sounded to the dwellers among the hills and valleys as 
a trumpet call, summoning them to arms. And during the 
Revolutionary War, when sung in the full choir, with earnest 
expression by the sons and daughters of Connecticut, it 
seemed, like the 

*' Blast of that dread horn, 
On Fontarabian echoes borne," 

wailing disaster and defeat, and rousing the courage of the 
faltering to do or die. In language it is sufficiently classic, 
and decidedly Christian. 

" The poet seems to have had in view the following atroci- 
ties of British agents, which had recently been perpetrated : 

"During the battle on Breed's hill, June 18, 1775, by the 



32 

orders of General Gage, the town of Charlestown was laid in 
ashes, by which 2,000 people were in a moment deprived of 
their habitations, furniture, and other necessaries, and prop- 
erty amounting to one hundred and twenty thousand pounds 
sterling, perished in the flames ! " 

"To gratify personal malice and revenge, on the 19th Oc- 
tober, 1775, Captain Mowat, commander of a sloop-of-war, 
under the orders of Admiral Graves, proceeded to burn the 
town of Falmouth (now Portland), Maine, destroying all the 
public buildings but one. and one hundred and thirty dwel- 
lings, and a great number of out-buildings. 

" By this wanton and malicious act of revenge, about one 
hundred and sixty families were driven, at a late period of the 
year, to find an asylum as they could, from the severity of 
the approaching winter ! " (President Dwight's Travels in 
New England.) 

This ode has been denominated "The War Song of the Rev- 
olution." It found its place in various singing books used in 
churches. The tune can be found in " The Keynote," a 
singing book published as late as 1864. 

THE AMERICAN HERO. 

A SAPPHIC ODE. 

Why should vain mortals tremble at the sight of 
Death and destruction in the field of battle, 
When blood and carnage clothe the ground in crimson, 
Sounding with death groans ? 

Death will invade us by th5 means appointed, 
And we must all bow to the king of terrors ; 
Nor am I anxious, if I am prepared, 
What shape he comes in. 

Infinite goodness teaches us submission, 
Bids us be quiet under all His dealings ; 
Never repining, but forever praising 
God our Creator. 

Well may we praise Him, all His ways are perfect ; 
Though a resplendence infinitely glowing, 
Dazzles in glory on the sight of mortals 
Struck blind by lustre ! 



33 

Good is Jehovah in bestowing sunshine, 
Nor less His goodness in the storm and thunder; 
Mercies and judgments both proceed from kindness, 
Infinite kindness ! 

then exult, that God for ever reigneth ! 
Clouds, which around Him hinder our perception, 
Bind us the stronger to exalt His name, and] 

Shout louder praises ! 

Then to the wisdom of my Lord and Master, 

1 will commit all that I have or wish for; 
Sweetly as babes sleep will I give my life up 

When called to yield it. 

Now, Mars, I dare thee, clad in smoky pillars. 
Bursting from bomb-shells, roaring from the cannon, 
Rattling in grape-shot, like a storm of hail stones. 
Torturing ^ther ! 

Up the bleak heavens let the spreading flames rise, 
Breaking like JEtna. through the smoky columns, 
Lowering like Egypt o'er the falling city, 
Wantonly burnt down. 

While all their hearts quick palpitate for havoc. 
Let slip your blood-hounds, nam'd the British lions ; 
Dauntless as death stares, nimble as the whirlwind. 
Dreadful as demons ! 

Let oceans waft on all your floating castles, 
Fraught with destruction, horrible to nature; 
Then, with your sails fill'd by a storm of vengeance. 
Bear down to battle ! 

From the dire caverns made by ghostly miners, 
Let the explosion, dreadful as volcanoes. 
Heave the broad town, with all its wealth and people, 
Quick to destruction ! 

Still shall the banner of the King of Heaven 
Never advance where I'm afraid to follow; 
While that precedes me, with an open bosom, 
JVar, I defy thee ! 

Fame and dear freedom lure me on to battle. 
While a fell despot, grimmer than a death's head, 
Stings me with serpents, fiercer than Medusa's 
To the encounter. 



34 

Life, for my country and the cause of freedom, 
Is but a trifle for a worm to part Avith ; 
And if preserved in so great a contest, 
Life is redoubled. 

Norwich, (Connecticut,) Oct. 1775. 

In the book entitled " Revolutionary Memorials," Rev. 
Wheeler Case speaks of Burgoyne's mention of the pulpit 
orators, in the way of warning the people against them. This 
implies that Burgoyne well understood that the clergy had 
great influence with the people. 

RECORDS OF THE GENERAL ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT, 

VOL. I, 1738-1799- 

A General Association of the Pastors of the Consociated 
Churches in the Colony of Connecticut, convened by Dele- 
gation at the house of the Rev'd Daniel Welch in Mansfield, 
June 21, 1774. 

The Rev'd Messrs. Waterman, Drummond & Baldwin 
were appointed a Committee to draw a Draft of a Letter of 
Condolence [sic] to the ministers of Boston under the pres- 
ent melancholy Circumstances of that Town. 

The Rev'd Messrs. Cogswell & Johnson were appointed to 
compleat the Draft of a Letter to the ministers of Boston. 

The Committee appointed prepared a Draft of a Letter to 
the ministers of Boston, which after Correction was accepted 
& is as follows : 

Rev'd & dear Sirs. 

We your brethren of the Colony of Connecticut met by Delegation 
from the several counties in General Association, at our annual meet- 
ing, cannot but deeply feel impressed with the present melancholy 
threatened Situation of America in general & the distressed State of the 
Town of Boston in particular, suffering the Severe resentment of the 
British Parliament by which the Subsistance of thousands is taken away. 
We readily embrace this opportunity, to manifest our hearty sympathy 
with you in your present Distresses. We consider you as suffering in 
the common cause of America [sic] — in the cause of civil Liberty, which 
if taken away, we fear would involve the ruin of religious Liberty also. 
Gladly would we contribute every thing in our Power for your Encour- 
agement and Relief ; however our Situation enables us to do little more 



35 

than to express our sincere affectionate Concern, and with fervent Ad- 
dresses to commend your Cause & the Cause of America — the Cause of 
Liberty & above all of religion to the Father of Mercies, who can easily 
afford effectunl Relief: who hath the Hearts of all at his Desposal &can 
turn them as he pleases. We feel deeply sensible, what a heavy Load must 
lie upon the minds of the ministers of Boston — enough to sink their Spirits 
unless armed with vigorous Christian Fortitude and Resolution. In 
hopes it may afford you some Consolation, we assure you of our sincere 
Condolance and unremitting prayers in your Behalf ; & that we shall in 
every way suitable to our Character & Station use our Influence with 
the good People of the Colony, to concur in every proper Measure cal- 
culated to afford Relief to America in general and the distressed Town 
of Boston in Particular. We pray that the Ministers of Boston may be 
inspired by the great Head of the Church with Wisdom sufficient for 
their Direction in such a Critical Day as the present. And we cannot 
but hope the united Prayers of America may obtain that Audience in 
Heaven which will ensure Salvation to us : and that God would give 
them & their People Firmness, Unanimity, Patience, Prudence & every 
Virtue which they need to support them under their heavy trials, & en- 
able them to stand firm in the glorious Cause of Liberty; express such 
a Temper & exhibit such an Example as shall be well pleasing to God 
& recommend them to the Compassion and Favour of their fellow 
men. We earnestly pray that God would humble us all under a deep 
sense of our numerous Transgressions and Criminal Declensions; show 
us the absolute necessity of Repentance and Reformation, humble us 
under his mighty hand & pour out a spirit of Fervent Supplication on 
you, on us, & all his people in this Land. 

Note. — James Cogswell, [of Scotland,] Stephen Johnson, [of Lyme,] 
Samuel Lockwood, [of Andover.] 

At a General Association of the Pastors of the consociated 
Churches of the colony of Connecticut, convened by Delega- 
tion, at the house of the Rev'd Benjamin Throop in Norwich, 
June 20th, A. D. 1775. 

At an adjourned meeting held June 21st, "The General 
Association taking into serious Consideration the distressing 
and melancholy State of pubHc Affairs in the British Ameri- 
can Colonies, and the Dangers they are now threatened 
with from the oppressive Measures of the British Court, 
are sensible of the loud calls of God in his Providence, that 
humbling ourselves under his righteous Hand, we turn unto 
him by unfeigned Repentance and Amendment, and we are 
thankful that God has put it into the Hearts of our Rulers 



36 

frequently to call upon us and our people to those Duties, 
that laying aside all Levity, Extravagance, and undue Diver- 
sions, we should be Excited to earnest Prayer and Supplica- 
tion and meet with our people for that Purpose as frequently 
as convenience will admit. We trust our Rulers will still 
encourage this good work and strengthen the Hands of all 
the ministers in it. We also rejoice that in so many of our 
Churches and Congregations there appears a Disposition of 
attending on such Seasons, and wish it may become general 
and universal : We look upon it in particular our Duty to stir 
up ourselves and all our Brethren in the Ministry to be for- 
ward in leading our people in this Day of Trouble to be call- 
ing on God, and to have special Seasons of Prayer, and that 
the whole of our Congregations be urged to attend them. 
This is certainly our Duty and what we are particularly 
directed to in the Word of God, that we answer the Messages 
of Heaven in Divine Providence and become an humble, pen- 
itent and pardoned People prepared for the Divine Mercy 
and Salvation. And as we are the Covenant people of God, 
and have enjoyed the special privileges of the Gospel, we 
look upon it that God in his Providence calls upon us to con- 
sider our Covenant obligations, and that it is the indispenca- 
ble [sic] Duty of Ministers to impress the minds of all their 
people with the Duty of owning the Covenant God of our 
Fathers; that those who have come under explicit and per- 
sonal Engagements, humbling themselves for all Breaches of 
their Vows, should be quickened to walk with God in all his 
Commandments and Ordinances ; and that others should be 
reminded of their awful Neglects and urged to remember and 
own the Obligations they are laid under by God's Covenant 
and improve the Privileges of it, and if any Churches or Con- 
gregations shall see fit and convenient publickly and as a 
body to renew their Covenant with God we should approve 
it ; but must leave the Matter to the Prudence of ministers 
and Churches to determine particularly for themselves : At 
the same time we would solemnly charge ourselves, our 
Brethren in the Ministry, and our People to be earnest in 
seeking and turning to God, and that bringing forth such 



37 

Fruits as he requires we may have tokens for Good, and still 
trust in his fatherly Kindness, that he will appear for this 
Land, scatter the dreadful cloud that is over it, secure and 
perpetuate all its Rights and Privileges, and cause the 
Churches here planted to flourish so long as the Sun and 
Moon shall endure. 

An Address of the General Association to the consociated 
Pastors and Churches in the Colony of Connecticut : 

Reverend and Beloved : 

Deeply impressed with a sense of the calamitous State in 
which our Land is involved : Reduced by the arbitrary Edicts 
of the British Parliament, and the cruel and inhuman Meth- 
ods used to inforce them, to the sad necessity of defending 
by Force and Arms those precious Privileges which our 
Fathers fled into this Wilderness quietly to enjoy: Declared 
Rebels by the British King and Parliament ; — Not only the 
Power of Britain, but a large Army of Foreign Mercenaries, 
hired at most Extravagant Price, employed to draggoon \is 
into Obedience or rather abject Submission to Tyranny : — 
Our Foreign Trade almost annihilated : — Many of our towns 
ruined and destroyed : Our Children, our Friends, our dear- 
est Connections called from our Bosoms to the Field of Bat- 
tle ; and some of them captured and enslaved by our cruel 
and insulting Foes : Detestible Parricides interspersed among 
us, aiming to give a fatal stab to the Country which gave 
them birth, and hath hitherto fostered them in her indulgent 
Bosom ; — And in many Places both at Home and Abroad, 
deplorable Sickness wasting away the Inhabitants of our 
Land : Deeply impressed with a View of these dire Calami- 
ties, we are led anxiously to inquire what Sins and Iniquities 
prevalent in our Land, have called down these heavy Judg- 
ments of Heaven upon us. Fully assured, both from sacred 
Writ and the usual Method of the Dispensations of God's 
Providence that such calamities are ever the effects of abound- 
ing Sin and Iniquity, and that Sincere Repentance and a 
thoro' Reformation, is the only probable Method to avert 
these Tokens of Divine Wrath. 



38 

The address then goes on to specify, in four closely written 
ledger pages, the sins of the times, viz. : Sabbath breaking, 
profanity, intemperance, uncleanness, and other vices, with 
the denial of important doctrines, and the neglect of church 
discipline, and exhorting ministers to be faithful rulers to en- 
force the laws against vice, churches to apply discipline, 
parents to govern and instruct their children, the young to 
fear God, and all classes to so conduct themselves as may 
avert the displeasure of God. 

Mr. Baldwin, the scribe of the Association for 1776, having 
died, the original minutes appear to have been lost, and the 
above seems to have been recorded from the printed address 
of the above-mentioned Association to the churches. 

REPORTS FROM THE COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS. 

New Stratford (now Monroe), 1778. 

" The Association took into consideration the melancholy 
situation of our country by reason of the severe rebukes of a 
holy God in suffering the continuance of a cruel and unjust 
war greatly to distress our land ; Resolved on the continu- 
ance of public lectures in the several churches, with the 
united friendly assistance of the ministers in the vicinity. 
The Association then took into consideration the state of our 
English Schools, that the education of our youth in some 
parts of this State is greatly on the decline ; that the employ- 
ing some Schoolmasters not well qualified in learning, and 
others of immoral conduct, and such as are disaffected to the 
Liberties of the country, have a tendency to produce very 
unhappy effects ; thought proper to instruct their Delegates 
to lay the matter before the General Association, that they 
may recommend such measures as have a tendency to revive 
learning and religion among the rising generation. 

" Attest : David Ely, Scribed 

rev. EBENEZER BALDWIN, OF DANBURY. 

Deacon Eli T. Hoyt writes : " I find in Robbins's Cen- 
tury Sermon, 1800, preached to our society, and published, 



39 

the following tribute to the memory of Rev'd Ebenezcr Bald- 
win, who was ordained 1770, and died in 1776. 

" He officiated with great reputation in the ministry, till a 
sudden death terminated his labors in 1776, aged 31. A man 
of great talent and learning, a constant student, grave in 
manners, a constant and able supporter of the sound doctrines 
of the gospel. 

" Tradition says he took the disease of which he died in 
the army. You are aware, I suppose, that he was uncle to 
the late Roger S. Baldwin.". 

REV. LYMAN HALL, OF STRATFIELD. 

After his dismission in 1750, Mr. Hall removed to Georgia ; 
was member of the Continental Congress, 1775 ; was one of 
the signers of the Declaration of Independence ; afterwards 
Governor of Georgia ; died in 179 1. A tombstone was pre- 
sented by the State of Georgia, and set up in Wallingford, 
his native place, 5th July, 1858. 

REV. ROBERT ROSS, OF STRATFIELD (nOW BRIDGEPORT). 

Mr. Ross, who was settled January 21, 1754, was of Irish 
descent, but born in this country ; a strong whig, and " very 
useful in encouraging his hearers to perseverance in accom- 
plishing the independence of his country." " Parson Ross 
was a strong whig in the Revolutionary War, and when the 
first military company in 1775 was raised to go to Canada to 
take Fort St. John, said gompany mustered in his door-yard, 
when they all knelt down with him while he offered prayer 
for a blessing on their enterprise. He published a sermon, 
that I have read, from these words, as near as I remember: 
*' For the divisions of Reuben, there were great searchings of 
heart," which sermon I believe was preached at the beginning 
of the Revolutionary War. 

" He was about six feet in height, and well proportioned ; 
wore a wig, cocked hat, ruffled shirt, black coat, vest and 
breeches, with white topped boots, cramped so as to set tight 
on the instep. As he was on a journey on horseback, he got 
his boots wet, and having pulled them off to dry he could 



40 

not pull them on again ; so he tied them with his mail straps 
to his saddle. On the way he met Parson Bellamy, when 
they commenced the old dispute on foreordination and free 
will. * Now,' says Parson Ross to Parson Bellamy, ' you 
think you can reconcile foreordination with free will }' 'Yes.' 
* Well,' says Parson Ross, ' you cannot even tell me why my 
boots are tied on behind me !' Parson Ross was of the * Old 
Divinity ' party, and was considered orthodox, while Parson 
Bellamy was of the ' New Divinity.' He was educated at 
Princeton, and rec'd his diploma from Pres't Burr." (From 
MS. by Deacon Isaac Sherman, printed in the Bridgeport 
Standard)) 

REV. JAMES BEEBE, OF TRUMBULL. 

Rev. N. T. Merwin writes : " Rev. James Beebe, pastor 
of the Congregational church (then called Presbyterian), from 
1747 to 1785, was a Revolutionary patriot. He took an 
active part in the capture of Ticonderoga, during the French 
and Indian war, and was active in stirring up the enthusiasm 
of the people in the war of the Revolution. He had a son 
David, who was a Captain in the Colonial army, and did good 
service in the Revolution. 

" Parson Beebe collected a public meeting in his house one 
evening while the war was brewing. While he was address- 
ing the people assembled there, reports of guns at a distance 
were heard, and fires were seen, intimating that the British 
were coming. The reverend general was keen, as well as 
patriotic, and suspecting a trick, he sent a body of men round 
by a back road, cut off the retreat of this scouting party, and 
captured them ; when lo ! it was some of the young men of 
the town, who had burnt heaps of cornstalks, and fired their 
guns, to play a joke on the folks at the meeting, and test 
their patriotism." 

ITEMS OF RECORD. 

" Benjamin, son of Brigadier-General Gold Selleck Sylli- 
man and his wife, born Aug. the 8th, and baptized Sept. the 
1 2th ; the General then being a prisoner on Long Island, his 



41 

lady fleeing from the conflagration of Fairfield, and took 
refuge in this society." 

Andrew Eliot, minister of Fairfield, born 1743, son of 
Andrew Eliot, D. D., of Boston, graduated at Harvard in 
1762, where he was a tutor; ordained June 22, 1774, died 
Oct. 26, 1805. 

The following are extracts from letters which he wrote to 
his father during the war : 

"Fairfield, June 26th, 1778. 

" The General Association sat zXPauge (Northford), near New Haven. 
I went as one of the delegates from our Association, and had the honor 
and trouble of serving as scribe to that venerable body. The interview 
was most agreeable, entertaining and profitable. I returned much 
pleased. Dr. Bellamy was our Moderator, and the Association was 
made up of new and old divinity men. But not a word of these pecufi- 
arities. The substance of our doings and conversation was how we 
should in the best and most effectual way promote Christian religion and 
morality — stem the torrent of vice in this degenerate age, and cultivate 
Candor, Harmony and Catholicism among Ministers, as well as among 
people. It was once and again observed, that all speculative disputes 
and party zeal should be laid aside — that Infidelity kept pace with in- 
creasing vices — and that there was the greatest occasion for Union in 
defence of the Christian cause." 

" Fairfield, July loth, 1778. 

" I wish Dr. Franklin was as great a Christian as he is a philosopher. 
What infinitely greater reason would he have to weep at the vain pomps 
and ceremonalia of this evil world ? — Alas ! Britain how art thou fallen ! 
Ah ! America to what art thou driven — to be forced to leave the land of 
thy forefathers' sepulchres, once a land of Liberty and religion — and to 
seek alliance and protection from part of the domains of the Man of 
Sin ! " 

Rev. Moses Mather was born at Lyme, March 6, 1719, 
graduated at Yale College in 1739. He received the degree 
of D. D. from New Jersey College in 1791 ; died Sept. 21, 
1806. 

" On Sunday, the 22d of July, 1781, while the congregation 
were employed in public worship, a body of British troops, 
consisting chiefly of refugees, surrounded the church, and 
took the whole number prisoners, together with their minis- 
ter, the Rev. Moses Mather, D. D. This venerable man was 
6 



42 

marched with his parishioners to the shore, and thence con- 
veyed to Lloyd's neck. From that place he was soon marched 
to New York, and confined in the Provost prison. His food 
was stinted, and wretched to a degree not easily imaginable. 
His lodging corresponded with his food. His company, to a 
considerable extent, was made up of mere rabble ; and their 
conversation, from which he could not retreat, composed of 
profaneness and ribaldry. Here he was insulted daily by the 
Provost marshal, whose name was Cunningham, — a wretch 
remembered in this country only with detestation. This 
wretch, among other kinds of abuse, took a particular satis- 
faction in announcing from time to time to Dr. Mather, that 
on that day, the morrow, or some other time at a little dis- 
tance, he was to be executed. 

" But Dr. Mather was not without his friends ; — friends, 
however, who knew nothing of him except his character. A 
lady of distinction, having learned his circumstances, and 
having obtained the necessary permission, sent to him clothes, 
and food, and comforts, with a very liberal hand." (Pres. 
Dwight's Travels.) 

A poem, containing fifty-three stanzas, was written on the 
afifair by Peter St. John, a schoolmaster of Norwalk, of which 
the following is the first stanza : 

" July the twenty-second day, 
The precise hour I will not say, 
In seventeen hundred and eighty-one, 
A horrid action was begun." 

Mr. Mather was an earnest advocate of the rights of the 
colonies, and openly encouraged his parishioners to enlist in 
the patriot army. Many of the people, however, favored the 
cause of King George, and joined the British forces on Long 
Island. 

About the ist of August, 1779, a squad of eight tories, five 
of whom were his own parishioners, entered his house by 
night, and took him and four of his sons prisoners. After 
about five weeks, he was permitted to return with two of his 
sons, his other sons still remaining in prison for several 
months longer. 



43 

Hezekiah Ripley, D. D., born in Windham, Feb. 3, 1743 ; 
Yale College, 1763; ordained in Greens F'arms, Feb. 11, 
1767, and continued in the peaceful discharge of parochial 
duty until the commencement of the Revolutionary War ; 
died 1822. 

Faithful to those principles of civil and religious liberty 
for which his ancestors had been distinguished, he did not 
hesitate respecting the course which he should pursue. He 
discharged for a time the duties of a chaplain in the Conti- 
nental army, and participated largely in the sufferings of that 
eventful period — his house, his furniture, and a portion of his 
library, having been burned by the enemy. I have been in- 
formed by those whose recollections embraced that period, 
that, during their public worship, alarming tidings were not 
unfrequently received. In such cases, and at the desire of 
Mr. Ripley, who was unwilling to forego those services, per- 
sons were stationed at ""such points that they might give 
timely notice of the approach of the enemy. While his 
countrymen were engaged in war, his feelings were alive to 
their success ; although amid the contest, he pursued those 
labors which were appropriate to a servant of the Prince of 
Peace. The independence of the country established, he was 
relieved from the almost constant alarm and anxiety coincident 
to a residence upon the sea-board, and gladly hailed the re- 
turn of peace, when every man could sit under his own vine 
and fig tree, having none to molest or make him afraid. He 
was now enabled to assist in the support of those institutions 
with whose prosperity the welfare of our country is so inti- 
mately connected. (Extract of a letter from Rev. Thomas F. 
Davies. Sprague's Annals, vol. i, p. 647.) 

He rode out with many of his people to meet General Wash- 
ington when on his way to Cambridge, to assume command 
of the army, and escorted him as far as Fairfield, where they 
dined. As they parted, Washington said to him. " If we 
can hold out one year, our liberties will be secured." 

Isaac Lewis, D. D., born in Stratford, Jan. 21, 1746; 
Yale College, 1765 ; ordained at Wilton, Oct. 26, 1768; set- 
tled in Greenwich, Oct. 18, 1786; died Aug. 27, 1840. 



44 

Mr. Lewis espoused his country's cause with great zeal 
during the Revolutionary struggle, and both himself and his 
family had a full share in the sufferings and perils of that 
eventful period. On one occasion, when the ' British were 
trying to effect a landing at Norwalk, and the people had 
congregated to repel them, a cannon ball from one of their 
vessels struck the beach, within three feet of the spot on 
which he was standing, and then bounded with great force, 
and lodged in the ground three or four rods distant. At the 
burning of Norwalk so complete was the desolation that only 
one house, and that unfinished, and at a distance from the 
village, was suffered to remain ; but, in that solitary dwelling 
the inhabitants assembled to observe a day of fasting and 
prayer, and Mr. Lewis preached an appropriate sermon to 
them from Isaiah Ixiv, 11-12. 

In the summer of 1776, he was appointed chaplain to the 
regiment commanded by Colonel Philip B. Bradley, then 
stationed at Bergen. He remained in the army actively en- 
gaged in his appropriate duties, nearly seven months, when 
he was attaclced with a violent fever which then prevailed in 
the camp, and was, for some time, so ill that his recovery was 
considered hopeless. But, having naturally a vigorous con- 
stitution for medical skill to act upon, his health was gradu- 
ally restored. After the State troops were disbanded, he 
was appointed chaplain in the Continental army, but his peo- 
ple being unwilling to spare him again, he declined the ap- 
pointment. 

David Avery, son of John and Lydia (Smith) Avery, was 
born at Norwich, Conn., April 5, 1746. He was fitted for 
college in Dr. Wheelock's school, Lebanon; entered Yale a 
year in advance, and was graduated in 1769. He studied 
theology under Dr. Wheelock ; was ordained a missionary to 
the Oneida Indians, as colleague with Samuel Kirkland ; was 
installed at Windsor, Vt., March 25, 1773; and dismissed 
April 14, 1777, to enter the army as chaplain. He was at 
the taking of Burgoyne, at the capture of the Hessians at 
Trenton, and in the battle of Princeton ; served three years 
as chaplain in the army ; settled at Bennington, Vt, Wren- 



45 

tham, Mass., and Chaplin, Conn., and performed two mis- 
sionary tours in New York and Maine ; died in 1817. He is 
said to have been " an Edwardean in sentiment, and a White- 
fieldian in warmth of manner." 

The following is the title page of a sermon preached by 
him : 

^^TJie Lord is to be praised for the Tfittmph of His Power. 

A SERMON 

PREACHED AT GREENWICH IN CONNECTICUT, 
ON THE i8th OF DECEMBER, 1777, 

BEING 
A GENERAL THANKSGIVING THROUGH THE UNITED AMERICAN 

STATES. 



BY DAVID AVERY, V D M., 

CHAPLAIN TO COL. SHERBURNE'S REGIMENT. 



Say continually, Let God be magnified. 



NORWICH, 

Printed by Green & Spoener 1778." 

At the close of a few words, explaining that it is the au- 
thor's belief that the extensive circulation of this discourse, 
in printed form, may do something to increase confidence in 
God and magnify His name, the author signs himself, 

" Camp at Fishkill, 
'^8th March, 1778." 

The text is Ex. xv, 11, " Who is like unto thee, O Lord" — 
and includes the verse. 

He makes brief divisions of the introduction, by consider- 
ing separately the clauses, *' Glorious in holiness," etc. Then 
he enumerates the events propitious and adverse of the cam- 
paign to the date given, drawing therefrom with considerable 
patience and persistence always the same lesson, that God 
has helped and will give success to the American arms. He 
closes with an exceedingly lengthy exhortation, dwelling es- 
pecially upon the careless and ungodly lives to which the 



46 

soldiers were sadly inclined, urging them to forsake profane 
and blasphemous speech. T. 

Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin was born at Norwich, July 3d, 
1745 ; Yale College, 1763 ; tutor there from 1766 to 1770; 
ordained in Danbury, Oct. 1770; died Oct. ist, 1776. 

" About the time that Mr. Baldwin was settled in Danbury, 
the assumed power of the British Parliament to bind the 
colonies by their acts in all cases, and the measures of 
the British government respecting the colonies, produced a 
general alarm, and became the subject of universal discus- 
sion, as threatening the liberties of the people, both civil and 
religious. Not only were the civilians alarmed, but the 
clergy, the descendants of the emigrant Puritans, who were 
persecuted at home, and fled to this country to enjoy in peace 
both their civil and religious privileges, now claimed it as 
their duty to come forward boldly in defense of their rights. 

" No class of our citizens were more conspicuous for their 
patriotism, or more powerfully contributed to arouse the 
spirit of resistance to the despotic acts of the British govern- 
ment, and prepare the minds of the people for the great 
struggle of the Revolution, than the Congregational clergy 
of New England ; and among them, few, if any, exhibited 
greater zeal or more signal ability, than the subject of this 
notice. The history of the world had taught him that civil 
and ecclesiastical despotism had ever gone hand in hand 
together. He felt, therefore, that the religious, no less than 
the civil, liberties of the people were in peril, and that, when 
the latter should have fallen a sacrifice to despotic power and 
oppression, the former could not long survive, but ecclesiasti- 
cal tyranny, in some shape or other, would, like a mighty tor- 
rent, soon overspread the land. 

"In August, 1776, he accompanied a large number of his 
parishioners, as their chaplain, to the seat of war in the 
vicinity of New York, to whose defense they were called as 
militia-men. He there, while in the performance of his 
duties, amidst the hardships of the camp, in mijiistering to 
the sick and suffering soldiers, contracted the fatal disease of 



47 

which he died, soon after his return to his parish." (Sprague's 
Annals, p. 637-639.) 

While a tutor in Yale College he published a number of 
articles on the principles of liberty, and against slavery, which 
exerted a great influence in hastening the abolition of slavery 
in New England. 

" Rev. David Ely, D. D., was born at Lyme, July 7th, 
1749; graduated at Yale College, 1769; settled at Hunting- 
ton, Oct. 27, 1773, and died Feb. 16, 18 16. 

" Settled in the ministry just before the War of the Revolu- 
tion, Dr. Ely participated in the anxieties of that momentous 
period. I infer this from the fact that, in the town of his 
residence, and in those adjacent, there were many adherents 
of the British Crown, and from a threat which one of the 
most prominent of those men made to him. It was to the 
effect that when the rebellion was put down, the Doctor 
should be hung on an oak tree which long flourished on the 
public square, and near the meeting-house in which he 
preached. (Sprague's Annals, vol. ii, p. 4.) 

Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett was ordained the second 
pastor of the church in Reading, Conn., in 1753, and died in 
1 8 10, after a pastorate of 57 years. He was a sturdy patriot, 
and during the Revolution his house was made a magazine 
for arms and ammunition for the patriot troops. This house 
is still standing, in excellent repair, and is occupied by Mr. 
Bartlett's heirs. Two of his sons served in the army. 

L. 

Rev. Samuel Sherwood was graduated at Yale College 
in 1749 ; tutor at Nassau Hall ; ordained at Weston, Aug. 
17, 1757; died May 25, 1783, in the 54th year of his age, 
and the 26th of his ministry. He preached for liberty, and 
roused the people ; and thus he became so obnoxious to the 
British and tories, that it was not deemed safe for him to 
sleep in his own house ; but he retired to some neighbors, 
leaving his family in charge of an old Swiss soldier. A pub- 
lished sermon of his, delivered on a "Public Fast," in 1774, 



48 

which was full of patriotic and courageous sentiments, with 
an appendix by Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin, of Danbury, was 
lately deposited in the library of Yale College. B. 

Rev. Seth Sage was installed pastor in Canton, 1774, and 
dismissed, 1778. If we may use the proverb, " Like people 
like priest," the conclusion is that Mr. Sage was thoroughly 
patriotic and zealously engaged in the Revolutionary strug- 
gle. His people made great sacrifices, and many of them 
went into the army. 

The position of the pastor may be inferred from another 
fact: Some of his people were, dissatisfied, left the church 
and society, and became " Separatists " — afterwards Baptists. 
These constituted a *' hot bed of tories." 

The community was in a divided state, the church broken, 
and their records lost, after the dismission of Mr. Sage. 

Rev. Timothy Pitkin, the fourth pastor of the ancient 
church in Farmington, was there through the whole Revolu- 
tionary period. He was the son of Governor Pitkin, born in 
East Hartford, 1727. He was graduated at Yale College, 
1747, — was a tutor in the same, 1750-51 ; he was ordained 
pastor of the church in Farmington, June, 1752; was dis- 
missed on account of ill health, June, 1785, and died July 8, 
1 8 12, in the 86th year of his age. He was a member of the 
corporation of Yale College from 1777 to 1804. His son, the 
Hon. Timothy Pitkin, was distinguished both as a historian 
and a statesman. 

One item, incidentally gathered, affords cheering evidence 
that Mr. Pitkin was deeply interested in the Revolutionary 
War. He preached to the soldiers in Simsbury, as they were 
about to go forth to the field of conflict. Efforts have been 
made, but in vain, to find the discourse then delivered. If 
he performed such service abroad, what must he have done 
among his own people ! For all that combines to make a 
*' good minister of Jesus Christ," the name of Timothy Pitkin 
is held in everlasting remembrance. 

Even to the present day it is like " incense poured forth." 



49 

Rev. William Robinson was the first minister in South- 
ington ; his father was a merchant ; graduated at Yale Col- 
lege, 1773, and ordained, 1780; was dismissed in 1 821, and 
died on his birth-day, August 15, 1825, aged 71. He was 
married four times ; had six children by his last wife, one of 
whom was the distinguished biblical scholar, Rev. Prof. Ed- 
ward Robinson. 

For native talent, and a strong, comprehensive intellect, 
he had no superior among his ministerial brethren. When 
he was settled in Panthorn (Southington), it was a poverty- 
stricken place, and he was obliged to resort to farming to 
support his family. The result was, he became the wealthi- 
est man in town, but not so distinguished in his profession 
as he otherwise would have been, though he ranked high 
among his brethren. When Mr. Robinson graduated, he was 
one of the first scholars of his class ; was afterwards tutor, 
and always in close relations of friendship with such men as 
Timothy Dwight and Joseph Buckminster, and esteemed in 
most respects' as fully their equal. 

Rev. John Smalley, D. D., a famous divine, and cele- 
brated as a teacher of students in theology, was born at Co- 
lumbia, 1734. He was pastor of the church in New Britain 
from 1758, when the church was first organized, and he or- 
dained its pastor, until 18 10, when Rev. Newton Skinner was 
settled as his colleague. It was no secret that at the out- 
break of the War of the Revolution his sympathies were very 
strongly with the Royalists, and he had the reputation of a 
Tory. 

Dr. Smalley was a man of very austere manners ; dignified 
and reserved in his intercourse with his people — maintaining 
to the last the peculiarities of dress, manners, and dignified 
reserve of the old Puritan divines. He was never a man to 
be carried away by any sudden or popular impulse. Accord- 
ingly, when his people evinced their sympathy with the cause 
of their country, he did not go with them, or favor their cause 
— and he took no pains to conceal his dislike. 

It is stated of him, that when, during the war, two hostile 

7 



50 

vessels appeared off New London, and news of the event was 
brought to New Britain on the Sabbath, and made public. 
Captain Gad Stanley having given notice at the close of divine 
service, to his military company to assemble at the church the 
next morning, Dr. Smalley gave very marked expression to 
his disapprobation of their course in fighting against the king. 
This occasioned great excitement at the time, though after- 
wards quietness was restored, and he may, in a measure, have 
acquiesced in the results of the war, and in the independence 
of the country, but he remained to the last a bitter foe to that 
democracy which gained ascendency in Jefferson's adminis- 
tration, and he was not afraid to " preach politics " when oc- 
casion required. 

Rev. John Eells was pastor of the first church in Glas- 
tonbury, during the Revolution. Another Mr. Eells was pastor 
of the East Society, called Eastbury (now Buckingham), at 
the same time — the latter being a cousin of Rev. John Eells. 
The ministry of the two cousins spans the entire period of 
the Revolution, in which the people of Glastonbury deeply 
sympathized from the outset, and it is to be presumed that 
both of these pastors were eminently patriotic* " News of 
the battle of Lexington reached Glastonbury during divine 
service, and the facts were announced from the pulpit." An- 
other cousin of this patriotic family was minister of North 
Branford, "v/ho, having raised a volunteer company in his 
own congregation, was chosen captain, and entered the Rev- 
olution in that capacity." 

Samuel Woodbridge, pastor of the East Society, was 
chaplain for a time during the Revolution. 

Rev. William Lockwood, afterwards pastor of the first 
church, was chaplain in the Revolution, and on terms of 
friendly acquaintance with General Washington. He fre- 
quently received invitations to dine with him. 

Rev. Joshua Belden was pastor of the Newington church 
during the Revolution — from May, 1747, was active pastor 



5^ 

until Nov., 1803 — Rev. Joab Brace being settled as his col- 
league in 1805. Mr. Belden died July, 1813. Active pastor 
56 years, and nominal pastor ten years longer. A sketch of 
him may be found in the Connecticut Evangelical Magazine 
for the year 1813. Nothing special is known of his patriotic 
record during the war, but Newington furnished its full pro- 
portion of soldiers for the army, and it is presumed the pastor 
sympathized with his people in relation to the cause of his 
country. The records of the church and society, indeed, give 
evidence of his cheerful self-denial to aid the common cause. 
He was, no doubt, actuated by a patriotic spirit. 

Rev. David S. Rowland, pastor at Windsor from 1776 to 
the time of his death, 1794, at the age of 75. His first settle- 
ment was in Plainfield, Conn., 1747-8 ; dismissed 1761 ; next 
settled in Providence. 

" He was a firm and zealous defender of the liberties of his 
country against foreign oppression." So obnoxious did he 
become to the enemies of the country that when the town of 
Providence was invested by the British, he was obliged, with 
his family, to flee in disguise. He is described as a power- 
ful and eloquent preacher, of commanding person in the 
pulpit, and of fine elocution. He preached and published 
many patriotic sermons. While minister of Providence he 
preached a sermon on Fast Day at Wrentham, Mass., en- 
titled, " Despotism illustrated and improved from the charac- 
ter of Rehoboam." It was a time of great political excitement, 
and occasioned a marked sensation. It was a year before the 
battle of Bunker Hill, about the time of the destruction of 
tea in Boston harbor. " A close parallel was drawn with a 
zealous and patriotic hand, between Rehoboam and George 
the Third." " The Hon. Judge Daggett, of New Haven, was 
present when the discourse was delivered, and stated that it 
produced a very great excitement." 

Nathan Perkins, D. D., born May 14, 1749 ; New Jersey 
College, 1770 ; settled 1772 in West Hartford ; died, January 
18, 1838. 

On the second of June, 1775, he preached a sermon to a 



52 

company of soldiers who went from his parish in defense of 
their country. His text was Ps. cxl, 1-2 : *' Deliver me O Lord 
from the evil man ; preserve me from the violent man, which 
imagine mischiefs in their heart ; continually are they gath- 
ered together for war." After an apology for introducing 
into the pulpit a topic so different from what his hearers 
usually heard him discuss, the preacher announced for the 
three heads of discourse : 

I. Mischiefs are imagined against us by evil men. 

II. To make these mischiefs take effect war is begun. 

III. Deliverance and preservation must be sought from 
the Lord. 

Under the first head are sketched the character, aims, and 
success of the Pilgrim fathers, and their successors ; the 
friendly relations established between the colonies and the 
mother country ; the adverse sentiments and conduct of the 
parent state, pushing coercive measures under pretext of 
just government. " They have undertaken to give and grant 
our money without our consent ; they show no regard to our 
persons or our rights. No conquered province was ever dealt 
more hardly by. Our precious liberties are invaded. Our 
sacred charters are violated. Foreign troops — the bane of 
government — are quartered among us in time of profound 
peace. The cruel superstition of Popery established, Pro- 
testanism only tolerated, and a despotism dangerous in the 
last degree in a neighboring province." 

IL Under this head is shown the falseness of the claim 
set up by the advocates of unconstitutional submission, on 
the ground of what the New Testament teaches respecting 
obedience to the powers that be. " We must resist unto 
blood, or be slaves. It would be criminal to give up our 
liberties. We should defend ourselves, and appeal to heaven 
for the justice of our cause." At the close, the soldiers are 
exhorted to be courageous, orderly, and to fear the Lord. 
" You fight, not for your daily bread — not for your pence 
sterling a day — but for your lives, your property, your native 
land, your dearest friends, your just rights, all you hold dear 
as men, and sacred as Christians — your all. Play the men, 



53 

therefore, for your God and your people, and the cities of 
your God." 

Ebenezer Gay, D. D., born, 1719 ; Harvard College, 1737 ; 
minister at Suffield ; died, 1796, having been in the ministry 
53 years. 

He addressed a company of soldiers belonging in the town, 
as they were on the eve of joining the army. He urged the 
lawfulness and necessity of taking up arms in defense of the 
country, and closed with a stirring appeal to the soldiers. 
An examination of his neatly written sermons shows that 
during the war he was accustomed to plead the cause of free- 
dom and independence. 

Ammi Rahumah Robbins, son of Rev. Philemon Robbins, 
of Branford, was born 1740; Yale College, 1760; ordained 
at Norfolk, October 28, 1761 ; died 181 3, after a ministry of 
fifty-two years, in which he was greatly distinguished for use- 
fulness and success. 

" Until the close of his ministry, the whole population of the 
town were preserved in one religious denomination. It would 
be difficult to select a minister in Connecticut who has been 
more popular with the people of his charge, or who exercised 
over them a more and complete and useful control. Bland 
and courteous in his manners, with a comely figure, a win- 
ning face, and constitutional agility, he ruled the old men, 
being at once their counselor and their boon companion. The 
young were his children ; the great mass of them were under 
his ministry born into the kingdom of God." (From Dr. Mc- 
Ewen's discourse at the Litchfield county celebration.) 

Mr. Robbins became a chaplain in the American army in 
the northern campaign of 1776. He left Norfolk on Mon- 
day, March i8th, and late on the evening of the next day 
arrived at Albany, near which the army was encamped. He 
kept a daily journal, which I have seen, and certainly the 
amount of labor which he performed was truly wonderful, 
during his presence with the army. He preached twice at 
least every Sabbath, besides visiting and praying with the 
sick and wounded. And during the week, he was day and 



54 

niglit engaged in this benign Christian work — never sparing 
himself if he could be of any service to the poor, suffering 
soldiers. The result was, that his health broke down, and 
he was compelled to leave the army for a time. He reached 
home on Wednesday, June 5 th. But his heart was with the 
army, and although his health was only partially restored, he 
left Norfolk, July 2d, to join the regiment. It was an unwise 
step. Before the end of the month he was sick and had 
high fever. I quote from his journal : 

" Monday, 29. — Was brought in a carriage to Stillwater, 
where Doct. Merwin attended me, who says my disorder is of 
the dissolvent, putrid kind. He talked encouragingly, but 
says no prospect of my being able to return to the camp and 
to my duties under three or four weeks ; and as I could ride 
a little, recommended me to try to get home. I am peculi- 
liarly unfitted to do the dutiec of a chaplain, on account of 
my bilious constitution. I envy Brother Avery his health. 
He will go through the hospital when pestiferous as disease 
and death can make it, with a face as smooth as a baby's, and 
afterwards an appetite as healthy as a wood-chopper. I 
cannot ; after inhaling such diseased breath, am sick and 
faint ; besides their sorrows take hold of me. I would not 
shrink from the work. Our war is a righteous war ; our men 
are called to defend their country ; whole congregations turn 
out, and the ministers of the gospel should go and encourage 
them when doing duty, attend and pray for and with them 
when sick, and bury them when they die. I hope to return 
to my work." 

He reached home on the third day of August. After a 
rest of sixteen days, he took leave of friends at home to join 
the regiment, in company with Captain Watson, " both of us 
feeble soldieis." Thus he went on in this impaired state of 
health, till the close of the campaign for that year, "in spend- 
ing and being spent," for the welfare of the soldiers. 

I close with the last entry in his journal : 

" Thursday, 31 October. — Arrived at night in my own 
home, after near three months absence in fatigue, perils and 
dangers, having experienced the most distinguishing marks 



55 

of Divine mercy and favor. O for a heart full of gratitude 
and praise and resolution to live thankful, humble, and faith- 
ful, being laid under the greatest obligations thereto." 

Rev. Cotton Mather Smith, born Suffield, Conn., 1731 ; 
descendant of Rev. Henry Smith, first minister of Wethers- 
field ; Yale College, 1751; settled in Sharon, Conn., from 
Aug. 28, 1755, to his death, Nov. 27, 1806. Father of Gov. 
John Cotton Smith. 

After he had been twenty years in the pastoral office, that 
great event, the American Revolution, occurred. It found 
Mr. Smith in the maturity of his powers, wielding within his 
sphere a great influence. He had dedicated himself to the 
Christian ministry ; this did not make him too sacred to give 
himself to his country. His brethren, the Congregational 
clergymen of New England, were at large, distinguished pa- 
triots in the struggle of the states for their independence and 
free government. None among them, in the incipient move- 
ments of the Revolution, or in providing for the hardships 
and conflicts of the war, brought the people and their charges 
up to a higher tone of action than did the pastor of Sharon. 
His sermons, his prayers, the hymns which he gave to the 
choir, were impulsive to patriotism. When the news of 
a battle, such as that of Lexington, or the news of vic- 
tory, such as Burgoyne's surrender, reached Mr. Smith, by 
an echo of the tidings from the pulpit, he electrified his con- 
gregation. Anxiety for the issue of the war inflamed his 
bosom to such a heat that this domestic action did not satisfy 
him. Into the memorable campaign of 1775, he entered as 
chaplain to a regiment in the northern army. His influence 
in producing order and good morals in the camp, in consoling 
the sick, and inspiring the army with firmness and intre- 
pidity, attracted the attention of General Schuyler, the com- 
mander-in-chief, and secured from this worthy officer a 
respectful friendship for Mr. Smith the residue of life. 
(Copied from Dr. McEwen's Discourse.) 

The following sprightly and interesting remarks were fur- 
nished me by Charles F. Sedgwick, Esq , of Sharon : 

" The religious element in New England entered largely 



56 

into the causes which forced the separation of the colonies 
from the mother country, and in the pubhc religious teach- 
ings of Mr. Smith before the actual breaking out of the con- 
flict, there was mingled much of the stirring patriotism of the 
times. The public mind in Sharon, therefore, was well pre- 
pared to meet the realities of the great struggle at its first 
breaking out, and Mr. Smith was a leading spirit in the town 
during all the scenes of the war. 

' " The intelligence of the battle of Lexington was brought 
to Sharon on the Sabbath, and at the close of the morning 
exercises Mr. Smith announced it to the congregation, ac- 
companied with remarks tending to rouse their spirits to 
firmness and resistance. Immediately after the congrega- 
tion was dismissed, the militia and volunteers, to the number 
of one hundred men, were paraded on the green, prepared to 
march to the scene of conflict, but intelligence came from 
Litchfield, intimating that their services were not then 
needed, as the British had returned to Boston, and they were 
dismissed until another call should be made for their ser- 
vices." 

Mr. Smith was on duty as chaplain of Colonel Hinman's 
regiment at Ticonderoga for several months during the cam- 
paign of. 1775, and while there was brought very low by a 
severe attack of sickness ; and at one time his recovery was 
thought to be very doubtful, but he returned to his people, 
and in the darkest hour of the conflict his firmness and his 
faith never forsook him. 

When Burgoyne was approaching with a large army from 
Canada, in 1777, threatening the disruption of the colonies 
and the early subduing of the rebellion, terror and despond- 
ency pervaded the public mind ; but Mr. Smith insisted that 
better days would soon shine upon the country, and was very 
active in persuading the men of the town to rally and join 
the army, which was to stop the progress of Burgoyne. 

During a period of intense excitement and anxiety, Mr. 
Smith preached a sermon from Isaiah, xxi, 11:" Watchman 
what of the night .^ " " Watchman what of the night .'' " The 
discourse was adapted to the condition of public affairs. He 



57 

dwelt much on the indications which the deaUngs of Provi- 
dence afforded, that a bright morning was about to dawn 
upon a long night of disaster. He told the people that he 
believed they would soon hear that a great victory had 
crowned the arms of America, and exhorted them to trust, 
with unshaken and fearless confidence, in that God who, he 
doubted not, would very soon appear for the salvation and 
deliverance of his people, and crown with success the efforts 
of the friends of liberty in this country. Before the congre- 
gation was dismissed, a messenger arrived bringing intelli- 
gence of the surrender of Burgoyne and his army, and joy and 
gratitude took possession of minds which had been so lately 
filled with fear and despondency. The favorable issue of the 
campaign of 1777, put an end to the struggle in this part of 
the country ; but the patriotic activities of Parson Smith 
were the theme of comment and commendation through the 
succession of many years. 

JuDAH Champion was graduated at Yale College in 175 1 ; 
ordained in Litchfield, July 4, 1753 ; died in 18 10. 

'One pleasant Sabbath morning the congregation had gath- 
ered together, and had just commenced the morning hymn, 
when, through the still streets there came the sharp clatter of 
a horse's hoofs — always so ominous,. at that time, of tidings 
from the army. As usual, when the courier arrived in any 
town on the Sabbath, he made straight for the " meeting- 
house." Reaching the door, he dismounted, and, flinging the 
bridle over the horse's neck, entered the building. The sing- 
ing ceased, and every eye was turned on the stranger as he 
walked up the broad aisle and ascended the pulpit stairs. 
He handed Mr. Champion a paper, who, with a smile of tri- 
umph on his face, arose and read : " St. Johns is taken." 
It must be remembered that this place had been besieged six 
weeks, till people began almost to despair of its ever being 
taken. The noble pastor, the moment he had finished the 
sentence, lifted his eyes to heaven and exclaimed : " Thank 
God for the victory." The chorister, sitting opposite the 
pulpit, in the gallery, clapped his hands and shouted : " Amen 
8 



58 

AND Amen ! " For a while the joy was unrestrained, but the 
pastor soon checked it by saying : " There is something more 
to be heard." He then read a lengthy communication, stating 
that the army was in a suffering condition. It was now the 
latter part of November, and there, on the borders of Canada, 
the winter was already setting in, and yet the troops were 
about to march for Quebec to undergo the rigors of a winter 
campaign. It described in vivid language their suffering 
condition. They were destitute of clothing, without shoes or 
stockings, and yet were ordered to traverse the frozen fields 
of the north. 

The. touching description lost none of its pathos as read by 
the pastor and commented on by him at its close. When he 
had finished, there was hardly a dry eye in the house. Es- 
pecially the women were overcome with emotion. As soon 
as the congregation was dismissed, a few prominent ladies 
were seen to gather round the young pasfor with eager coun- 
tenances. They were evidently asking him some questions, 
and it was equally evident, from his benevolent smile and 
nodding head, that he was answering them satisfactorily. 
Soon they began to move rapidly among the other women 
that, in turn, gathered into groups in earnest conversation. 
After a little while they all dispersed to their homes. When 
the congregation assembled for the afternoon service, not a 
woman was in the church. The wives, mothers, and maidens 
had laid aside their Sabbath apparel and drawn forth their 
spinning-wheels, set in motion their looms, and brought out 
their knitting-needles and hand-cards, and the village sud- 
denly became a hive of industry. On that usually still Puri- 
tan Sabbath afternoon, there now rung out on every side the 
hum of the wheel and the click of the shuttle — sounds never 
before heard in Litchfield on the Sabbath day, and which 
contrasted strangely with those of prayer and praise in the 
adjoining sanctuary. Yet both believed that they were serving 
God. The women were working for those brave patriols 
who were about to march, destitute and barefoot, over the 
frozen ground to strike for freedom. Many years after, when 
a venerable old man, Mr. Champion was asked by his grand- 



59 

daughter how he could approve such a desecration of the 
Sabbath. He turned on her a solemn look, and replied sim- 
ply : " Mercy before sacrifice." 

Oh, what a flood of light does such a scene as this, on a 
Sabbath afternoon in those strict times, throw on the state of 
feeling that existed. Is it wonderful that a revolution which 
had its springs so deep down in the human heart, and was 
sustained by such prayers and such faith, should succeed ? 
Its true history is not to be found on the battle-field, but in 
these secluded villages and country parishes. 

Not long after this, Mr. Champion received, one morning, 
several quarters of veal from different parishioners, who were 
ignorant of each other's intentions. His wife was in dismay 
at this inundation of veal, and asked him what she should do 
with it, as it would be impossible to use it all before it 
spoiled. " Never mind," said this man of faith, " Providence 
has a meaning in it; There will be occasion to use it in some 
way we do not think of." Within two hours he received a 
letter from a nephew, who was a quartermaster in the army, 
saying that a regiment of soldiers would pass through Litch- 
field that day, and would need a dinner. He immediately 
sent word round to the inhabitants, who hastily gathered to- 
gether and set tables through the main street and loaded 
them down with provisions. The good man was right — there 
was " occasion " for the veal. 

When the news of Burgoyne's invasion filled the land with 
excitement and alarm, Mr. Champion could remain at home 
no longer, a mere idle spectator, while he urged with such 
earnestness his parishioners to hasten to the battle-field, and 
offering his services, he went to Ticonderoga as chaplain. 
He was there with the brave Allen, and saw with dismay the 
army abandon the fortress and take up its line of retreat 
through the wilderness. It was with feelings of unbounded 
joy he saw the army at last make a determined stand at Sara- 
toga. His attention to the wounded after the first battle was 
unwearied. After the surrender of Burgoyne, he showed the 
same devotion to the sick and wounded of the British. So 
ceaseless and kind were his efforts that both the American 



6o 

and British officers returned him their warmest thanks. He 
witnessed the close of the great drama, when the British 
evacuated New York city." (From J. S. Headley, in the 
New York Observer iox 1875.) 

The following is taken from Hollister's History of Con- 
necticut : 

" Rev. Judah Champion, of Litchfield, was an ardent patriot. 
Besides acting as a chaplain in the army, he used all his in- 
fluence in arousing and sustaining the enthusiasm of the 
people in favor of liberty ; at one time preaching eloquent 
sermons, at another encouraging enlistments and contribu- 
tions of clothing and provisions for the army. In * the 
alarming crisis, he thus invoked the sanction of Heaven : ' 

" Oh Lord ! we view with terror and dismay the enemies 
of thy holy religion ; wilt thou send storm and tempest, to 
toss them upon the sea, and to overwhelm them in the mighty 
deep, or scatter them to the uttermost parts of the earth. 
But peradventure, should any escape thy vengeance, collect 
them together again, O Lord ! as in the hollow of thine hand, 
and let thy lightnings play upon them. We beseech thee, 
moreover, that thou do gird up the loins of these thy servants, 
who are going forth to fight thy battles. Make them strong 
men, that ' one shall chase a thousand, and two shall put ten 
thousand to flight.' Hold before them the shield, with which 
thou wast wont in the old time to protect thy chosen people. 
Give them swift feet that they may pursue their enemies, and 
swords terrible as that of thy destroying Angel, that they 
may cleave them down when they have overtaken them. 
Preserve these servants of thine. Almighty God ! and bring 
them once more to their homes and friends, if thou canst do 
it consistently with thine high purposes. If, on the other 
hand, thou hast decreed that they shall die in battle, let thy 
spirit be present with them, and breathe upon them, that 
they may go up as a sweet sacrifice into the courts of thy 
temple, where are habitations prepared for them from the 
foundation of the world." 

Rev. James Dana, D. D., born, Mass., May 11, 1735; 
Harvard University, 1753 ; settled in Wallingford, Oct. 12, 



6i 

1758, and in New Haven, April 29, 1789; died, August 18, 
1812. 

The following is an extract from Bacon's Historical Dis- 
courses, p. 273 : 

" There was a time, while the Revolution was approaching, 
when public sentiment in Connecticut had by no means be- 
come unanimous as to the expediency of attempting to stand 
against the British government, or of taking any measures 
which might sever the tie between the colonies and the pres- 
ent empire. The eastern part of the State was somewhat in 
advance of the western, and, if I mistake not, the * new 
lights,' as a body, were a little before the old lights, or con- 
servative party, as a body. So slow was Governor Fitch in 
coming up to the grand movement of the day, and consenting 
to the adoption of strong measures, that during the agitations 
consequent upon the Stamp Act, he lost the confidence of 
the people, and lost his office. It was not far from this time 
that Dr. Dana, then a young man, was invited to preach in 
this place (New Haven). Many, particularly of the eastern 
members, would have refused to hear so suspected a preacher, 
if they had not understood that he was strongly on their side 
in politics. Their curiosity, and their confidence in his po- 
litical orthodoxy, overcame their dislike of his ecclesiastical 
irregularity. His audience, therefore, included all the lead- 
ing political men of the colony. Expecting, or at least hoping 
for such an audience, he had prepared himself for the occa- 
sion. His text was, Heb. xi, 24, 25. 'By faith, Moses, when 
he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pha- 
raoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the 
people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a sea- 
son.' And though to men not in the habit of looking for a 
double sense, the sermon might have seemed far enough 
from having any political bearing, there were few in that au- 
dience who did not see the meaning. As the preacher illus- 
trated and vindicated the conduct of Moses, ' when he had 
come to years,' it became very plain that Connecticut, having 
come to years, was old enough to act for herself, and trusting 
in the God of Israel, to refuse to be any longer dependent 



62 

upon Pharaoh. As he held up for imitation the faith of the 
great Hebrew lawgiver, whom all the blandishments of roy- 
alty could not pervert, whom the wrath of the king could not 
deter, and who renounced the court and identified himself 
with the cause of the wronged and oppressed people, there 
was no hearer who did not see for himself, in the contrast, 
the picture of those timid politicians of the times, who were 
likely to become the tools of the court. No man was ever 
more than he a master of that sort of ^ eloquence in which 
* more is meant than meets the ear.' The prejudices of his 
auditors were vanquished. From that time forward, when- 
ever the General Assembly held its session at- New Haven, 
it was expected of course that Mr. Whittlesey would gratify 
the members by exchanging once with his brother Dana." 

Chauncey Whittlesey, son of Samuel Whittlesey, born 
in Wallingford, 1718 ; Yale College, 1738; ordained in New 
Haven, March i, 1758 ; died, July 24, 1787. 

Dr. Bacon in his Historical Discourses, p. 255, quotes the 
following portion of a prayer from the handwriting of Rev. 
Chauncey Whittlesey : 

" O thou Most High ! as thou wast pleased to speak by 
thy prophet to Rehoboam and the people of Judah and Ben- 
jamin, so be pleased in thy providence to speak to the king 
of Great Britain and Ireland : ' Ye shall not go up nor fight 
against your brethren, but return every man to his house, 
and thus without the farther effusion of blood.' O God 
most high and gracious ! may tranquility be restored to the 
nation and to these American States. As thou didst then 
influence the minds of the men of Judah and Benjamin to 
refrain from the destruction of their brethren, so, O God ! in 
whose hands are the hearts of all men. Thou canst easily in- 
fluence the minds of those who are invading our land, and 
threatening to lay us waste. Would to God that they might 
be influenced to desist from their cruel and destructive de- 
signs." 

Naphtali Daggett, D. D., born Attleboro', Mass , Sept. 
8, 1727 ; Yale College, 1748 ; Prof, of Divinity in Yale Col- 



63 

lege from March 4, 1756 till his death, and acting President 
in ijG^j^ ; died Nov. 25, 1780. 

" My first recollections of Dr. Daggett go back to the au- 
tumn of 1775, when I entered Yale College. In person he 
was of about the middle height, strong framed, inclining to 
be corpulent, slow in his gait, and somewhat clumsy in his 
movements. When I first knew him, he was about forty- 
eight years old, and had been twenty years Professor of Di- 
vinity, and nine years President. When appointed to the 
latter station, there was no expectation of uniting the two 
offices in the same individual ; and he took the Presidency 
only for a time, until a proper person could be found to fill it. 
This proved more difficult than was expected, and he con- 
tinued to hold the office until I was a junior in college, in the 
year 1778. There was a story among the students on this 
subject, which illustrates one prominent characteristic of the 
clergy of that day, — I mean, a love of drollery and of keen 
retort. ' Good morning, Mr. President/?-^ temporel said one 
of his clerical brethren, on some public occasion, bowing very 
profoundly, and laying a ' marked emphasis on the closing 
words of his title. * Did you ever hear of a President pro 
(Eternitate ? ' said the old gentleman in reply, drawing himself 
up with an assumed air of stateliness, and turning the laugh 
of the whole company on his assailant. There was hardly 
anything which the old clergy loved better at their occasional 
meetings than such a keen encounter of the wits. 

" For about three years after I entered college, the faculty 
consisted of Dr. Daggett, who was President and Professor 
of Divinity, the Rev. Nehemiah Strong, Professor of Mathe- 
matics and Natural Philosophy, and two or three tutors. It 
was in the midst of the Revolutionary War, and the number 
of students was greater than at any former period, many young 
men having been placed in the institution by their parents, 
to prevent them from being drafted into the army. The 
agitated state of the country was unfavorable to study. The 
neighborhood of New Haven was, at one time, so drained of 
provisions for the public service, that it became necessary to 
dismiss college for want of a competent supply of food for the 



64 

consumers. Our proximity to New York, which was occu- 
pied by the enemy, created great anxiety for the safety of the 
students, and the corporation at last decided to remove the 
students into the country. For nearly two years, the classes 
were distributed into different towns in the interior ; two at 
Glastonbury, one at Farmington, and one at Wethersfield. 
Dr. Daggett, in the meantime, remained at New Haven, in 
charge of the college buildings and other property, without 
being statedly engaged in preaching or instruction. For 
several years there were no regular Commencements, — the 
graduating classes received their degrees in private. In 1778, 
Dr. Stiles, who had some time before been elected President, 
entered on the duties of his office. The exercises of college 
had already been resumed in New Haven. Dr. Daggett was 
now freed from the responsibilities of the presidency, and re- 
commenced his labors as Professor of Divinity, preaching to 
the students regularly in the chapel on the Sabbath. 

" These labors were continued about a year, during which 
the institution was in a state of increasing prosperity under 
the new President, when everything was thrown into con- 
fusion by rumors of a meditated attack on the town by the 
British under General Tryon. It soon came. On the evening 
of the 4th of July, 1779, a force of twenty-five hundred men, 
which had previously sailed from New York, landed in the 
south part of West Haven, a parish of New Haven, about five 
miles from the center of the town. College was, of course, 
broken up ; and the students, with many of the inhabitants, 
prepared to flee on the morrow into the neighboring country. 
To give more time for preparation, and especially for the re- 
moval of goods, a volunteer company of about a hundred 
young men was formed, not with the expectation of making 
any serious stand against such a force, but simply of retard- 
ing or diverting its march. In common with others of the 
students, I was one of the number ; and I well remember the 
surprise we felt the next morning, July 5 th, as we were march- 
ing over West bridge towards the enemy, to see Dr. Daggett 
riding furiously by us on his old black mare, with his long 
fowling-piece in his hand ready for action. We knew the old 



65- 

gentleman had studied the matter thoroughly, and satisfied 
his own mind as to the right and propriety of fighting it out ; 
but we were not quite prepared to see him come forth in so 
gallant a style to carry his principles into practice. Giving 
him a hearty cheer as he passed, we turned down towards 
West Haven, at the foot of the Milford hills, while he ascended 
a little to the west, and took his station in a copse of wood, 
where he seemed to be reconnoitering the enemy, like one 
who was determined to " bide his time." As we passed on 
towards the south, we met an advance guard of the British ; 
and taking our stand at a line of fence, we fired upon them 
several times, and then chased them the length of three or 
four fields, as they retreated, until we suddenly found our- 
selves involved with the main body, and in danger of being 
surrounded. It was now our time to run, and we did for our 
lives. Passing by Dr. Daggett in his station on the hill, we 
retreated rapidly across West bridge, which was instantly 
taken down by persons who stood ready for the purpose, to 
prevent the enemy from entering the town by that road. In 
the meantime. Dr. Daggett, as we heard the story afterwards, 
stood his ground manfully, while the British columns ad- 
vanced along the foot of the hill, — determined to have the 
battle himself, as we had left him in the lurch — and using his 
fowling-piece now and then to excellent effect, as occasion 
offered, under the cover of the bushes. But this could not 
last long. A detachment was sent up the hill-side to look 
into the matter ; and the commanding officer coming sud- 
denly,, to his great surprise, on a single individual in a biack 
coat, blazing away in this style, cried out, " What are you 
doing there, you old fool, firing on His Majesty's troops.''" 
" Exercising the rights of ivar,'' says the old gentleman. The 
very audacity of the reply, and the mixture of drollery it con- 
tained, seemed to amuse the officer. ** If I let you go this time, 
you rascal," says he, " will you ever fire again on the troops 
of His Majesty 1 " " Nothing more likely I' said the old gen- 
tleman, in his dry way. This was too much for flesh and 
blood to bear, and it is a wonder they did not put a bullet 
through him on the spot. However, they dragged him down 

9 



66 

to the head of the column, and as they were necessitated by 
the destruction of West bridge to turn their course two miles 
farther north to the next bridge above, they placed him at 
their head, and compelled him to lead the way. I had gone 
into the meadows, in the meantime, on the opposite side of 
the river, half a mile distant, and kept pace with the march as 
they advanced towards the north. It was, I think, the hottest 
day I ever knew. The stoutest men were almost melted 
with the heat. In this way they drove the old gentleman 
before them at mid-day under the burning sun, round through 
Westville, about five miles into the town, pricking him for- 
ward with their bayonets when his strength failed, and when 
he was ready to sink to the ground from utter exhaustion. 
Thus they marched him into New Haven, shooting down one 
and another of the unoffending inhabitants as they passed 
through the streets, and keeping him in utter uncertainty 
whether they had not been reserving him for the same fate. 
When they reached the green, he was recognized by one of 
the very few tories in the place who had come forward to 
welcome the troops, and at his request was finally dismissed. 
His life was, for some time, in danger from extreme exhaus- 
tion, and from the wounds he had received. He did, however, 
so far recover his strength as to preach regularly in the 
chapel a part of the next year ; but his death was no doubt 
hastened by his sufferings on that occasion. He died about 
sixteen months after." (Elizur Goodrich in Sprague's An- 
nals, vol. i, pp. 480-2.) 

Benj. Trumbull, D. D., born in Hebron, Conn., Dec. 19, 
1735 ; Yale College, 1759; ordained in North Haven, 1760; 
died, Feb. 2, 1820. 

" He had been but a few years in the ministry when the 
War of the Revolution broke out ; and, from its commence- 
ment to its close he took the deepest interest, and during 
much of the time, an active part in the struggle.. And when 
the war was terminated, he labored to fix on an enduring 
basis, and transmit to posterity what had been so dearly ac- 
quired." (Sprague's Annals, p. 584, vol. i. 



&7 

The following is an extract from a letter written by Prof. 
Benj. Silliman, LL. D. : 

" His patriotism is conspicuous in his History of Connecti- 
cut. His historical researches made him familiar with the 
early struggles of the infant colonies, and especially with 
those of New England ; and the earlier years of his life were 
cotemporary with the campaigns of the middle of last cen- 
tury, when, after the struggles of more than one hundred 
years against the combined power of the French and Indi- 
ans, — that power, so long the scourge of the colonies, was 
finally broken down by the surrender of Quebec, which took 
place in the very year (1759) in which he received his degree 
of Bachelor of Arts in Yale College. 

''Before he had reached his meridian, the American Revo- 
lution summoned to its support the prime of the intelligence, 
and moral and physical power of the country. In this cause 
he was ardently engaged. I have heard my father say that 
Dr. Trumbull, having fulfilled his appropriate duties as chap- 
lain in his regiment, was not satisfied with the use of spirit- 
ual weapons alone, or willing to remain in safety with the 
other non-combatants of the army. At the battle of White 
Plains, in the autumn of 1776, he shouldered his musket, per- 
formed a soldier's duty, and encountered a soldier's dangers, 
in the ranks. On that occasion, and on other occasions of 
the same kind, he was seen to load and fire with coolness and 
courage, as my father distinctly observed. The country has 
long been familiar with the story of the accident which left 
both him and the late Colonel Tallmadge in the river Brunx, 
when the horse of the latter, surprised by the sudden load of 
another rider, leaping in his flight from the enemy, upon the 
crupper of the animal which had just descended the bank, 
he slipped from under them both, and left them to a cold bath 
in the stream. This anecdote I had from my father, and also 
another, which evinces equally the zeal and vigilance, if not 
the discretion, of the devoted patriot : 

" In an anxious moment of one of the battles, in the au- 
tumn of 1776, in the vicinity of New York — in most of which 
my father was engaged — Dr. Trumbull, perceiving, as he 



68 

thought, that there was great danger to one division of the 
army, hastened to General Washington, and zealously com- 
municated the information, when the Commander-in-chief, 
doubtless observing his clerical garb, replied in a kind and 
calm manner, *' Good gentleman, you seem to be very much 
frightened," and said no more, having, doubtless, before un- 
derstood perfectly the state of things. 

"When, in July, 1779, ^ British army invaded this town, 
Mr. Trumbull was among the volunteers, (not amounting, I 
believe, to one hundred,) who, under the late Hon. James 
Hillhouse, then commander of the Governor's Guard, checked 
the advance of the hostile army by firing from behind fences 
and coverts of trees, upon the advanced guard. They came 
up from the village of West Haven, along the heights contigu- 
ous to the salt meadows, and the bridge being taken up, they 
were obliged to march up to the West Rock — proceeding 
with great caution in a day of intense heat ; and they arrived 
in town only at night-fall, and so much exhausted that the 
town was saved by the delay ; for, by the next morning, the 
country around was aroused, and the army hastened to re- 
embark, and burned only a few buildings, instead of kindling 
a general conflagration, as they intended. I have been told 
by a person who was among the volunteers, that Mr. Trum- 
bull was on horseback, and fired from his saddle, and that 
when the enemy fired, he secured himself by dropping his 
head along the horse's neck." 

Rev. Mark Leavenworth, son of Thomas, of Stratford, 
born in Stratford, 171 1 ; fitted for college by Rev. Jede- 
diah Mills, of Ripton ; Yale College, 1737; licensed to preach 
by the New Haven Association in 1738 ; settled in Water- 
bury, June, 1739, and ordained March, 1740. 

In 1739, when Mr. Leavenworth first came among his peo- 
ple, so great was the dread of Episoppacy, that they required 
him to give a bond for ;£^500 — a sum equal to his " settle- 
ment " — to be paid to the society, " if he should within twenty 
years from that time become a Churchman, or," as was added, 
" by immorality or heresy render himself unfit for a gospel 



69 

minister — to be decided by a council." In 1748-9, he had so 
gained the confidence of the society that they released him 
from his ;£50o bond. 

In 1760, in the old French War, he served as chaplain to 
the 2d Connecticut regiment (under Colonel Samuel Whit- 
ing), and endured with spirit the hardships of the campaign. 

" In December, 1776, when extraordinary efforts were made 
to reinforce the Continental army, and a committee was ap- 
pointed by the General Assembly of Connecticut to arouse 
and animate the people * to use and exert themselves with 
the greatest expedition/ upon this committee was placed the 
Rev. Mark Leavenworth." (His. p. 339.) 

He was on the State committee for raising troops in the 
Revolution, and on the i6th of September, 1777, when the 
oath of fidelity was administered to the freemen of Water- 
bury, he was the first to receive it, or at least, the man whose 
name heads the list. 

It was in 1784, that a law for securing the *' Rights of Con- 
science" was passed, which permitted a man to join any de- 
nomination of Christians he pleased, and thus was a series of 
reforms inaugurated, which has resulted in the complete 
separation of church and state. 

Mr. Leavenworth died August 20, 1797, in the 86th year 
of his age, and 58th of his ministry., A. 

Enoch Huntington was born in Scotland, Conn., Decem- 
ber 15, 1739, and was graduated at Yale College in 1759; 
ordained pastor of the church in Middletown, Jan. 6, 1762 ; 
died, June 12, 1809. 

At a general Fast, ordered by Congress, and kept July 20, 
1775, Mr. Huntington preached an eloquent sermon, in which 
he uttered these words : 

" It is now a day of peculiar trial, and every good man and 
lover of his country, under the present aspects of divine prov- 
idence, and the political and martial movem.ents that have 
taken place, must feel a very sensible degree of affecting ap- 
prehension and concern, and the man ought to be pitied for 
his weakness, or shunned for his wickedness, ' whose bosom 



70 

beats not in his country's cause.' " (From a sermon by Rev. 
A. W. Hazen.) 

Samuel Mills, born in Canton, 1752 ; Yale College, 
1776. 

While a student at Yale College he either was drafted or 
volunteered into the government service, and became a 
lieutenant of a company of " light horsemen ; " was severely 
wounded in the streets of Philadelphia by a British officer, 
and was taken to a hospital, senseless. Among the young 
ladies who volunteered to care for the sick and wounded, was 
a Miss Sarah Gilpin, daughter of Thomas Gilpin, of Philadel- 
phia, who had the care of Mr. Mills. The wounded and the 
nurse ** fell in love " with each other, and were married after 
the close of the war. He commenced preaching in Wethers- 
field, but remained there but a short time, and then went to 
Chester, and was settled there in 1787, and died there in 
1 8 14, aged 62 years, and in the 28th year of his ministry. 

He had three wives. His first wife died in 1796, his 
second in 1801, and the third wife survived him but a short 
time. 

For some years he instructed young men, giving them a 
higher education than could be had in common schools. He 
was a very successful teacher, and was much respected and 
beloved as a pastor by his people, and left his mark for good 
on the character of many who came after him. 

H. and S. 

Elizur Goodrich, D. D., born at Rocky Hill, October 26, 
1734; Yale College, 1752; settled in Durham, 1756; died, 
1797. 

*' It ought here to be said^ to the- credit of the American 
clergy, that the zeal with wnich they entered into our Revolu- 
tionary struggle was not a mere ebullition of feeling caught 
from their people, nor wS.s it owing to any impulse received 
from the politicians of the day. It was the result of discussions 
carried on for some years by leading divines among them, in 
their social meetings, and larger ecclesiastical bodies. All 
who ever studied under Dr. Dwight, will remember the co- 



71 

piousness and fervor with which he argued the question of 
" T\\Q Right of Resistance," the exactness with which he laid 
down the limitations of that right, and the very guarded prin- 
ciples on which alone he admitted its exercise. This was a 
class of reasonings to which the subject of this sketch formed 
an early attachment under the teachings of President Clap. 
He was thus led, at a later period, to the study of such works 
as Cumberland's Law of Nature, Grotius, Puffendorf, etc. ; 
and one of his sons who had spent most of his life in the con- 
flicts of the senate, once remarked that he had met with no 
one in all his intercourse with public men, who had entered 
more deeply into the gr&dX prijiciples of law and jurisprudence, 
or could state an argument on the subject with more binding 
force. As the result of inquiries thus conducted, he carried 
the discussion into his pulpit, and urged it upon his people as 
a religious duty, to lay down their property and their lives in 
the conflict. It is on this subject alone that I find him rising 
into impassioned eloquence, in the sermons which he left be- 
hind. His zeal in the cause made his name familiar to all 
the country around, as the following anecdote will show^: 
The Tories having possession of Long Island, carried on an 
active trade in British goods with the small ports along the 
Sound, from New Haven to the mouth of the Connecticut 
river. This awakened great indignation among the people of 
the adjacent towns, who considered Governor Trumbull 
(though very unjustly) as too remiss in his efforts to put down 
the trade. At one of the May elections they took a curious 
mode to mark their dissatisfaction. They sent up to Hart- 
ford more than a thousand votes for the " Rev. Elizur Good- 
rich " to be Governor of Connecticut ; a singular specimen of 
the quaint humor which the Puritan race so often intermin- 
gled with their gravest concerns." (Sprague's Annals, vol. i, 
pp. 509-10.) 

Samuel Wales, D. D., born 1746; Yale College, 1767 ; 
settled atMilford, 1770; died, Feb. 18, 1794. 

" Being an ardent friend to his country's liberties, he served 
for a short time, in 1776, as chaplain in the Revolutionary 
army." (Sprague's Annals, vol. i, p. 711.) 



72 

Timothy Dwight, D. D. LL. D., born in Northampton, 
May 14, 1752 ; Yale College, 1769; tutor at Yale, 1771-7 ; 
licensed to preach, and a chaplain in the Connecticut brigade, 
commanded by General S. H. Parsons, Sept., 1777 — Oct., 
1778; settled in Greenfield, Conn., Nov. 12, 1783; President 
of Yale College from Sept., 1795, to his death, Jan. 11, 1817. 

The following poem was written by him between Septem- 
ber, 1777, and October, 1778. 

It was composed in the buoyancy of his own hopes, and 
designed to encourage the hopes of his countrymen. It 
was for many years exceedingly popular in Connecticut. 
The great heart of the author must have bounded with strong 
pulsations of patriotism, when giving birth to this grand pro- 
phetic ode : 

COLUMBIA. 

BY TIMOTHY DWIGHT, D. D. 

Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise, 

The queen of the world, and the child of the skies ! 

Thy genius commands thee ; with rapture behold, 

While ages on apjes thy splendors unfold. 

Thy reign is the last, and the noblest of time. 

Most faithful thy soil, most inviting thy clime ; 

Let the crimes of the East ne'er encrimson thy name. 

Be freedom, and science, and virtue, thy fame. 

To conquest and slaughter, let Europe aspire; 
Whelm nations in blood, and wrap cities in fire; 
Thy heroes the rights of mankind shall defend. 
And triumph pursue them, and glory attend. 
A world is thy realm : for a world be thy laws. 
Enlarged as thine empire, and just as thy cause; 
On Freedom's broad basis, that empire shall rise, 
Extend with the main, and dissolve with the skies. 

Fair science her gates to thy sons shall unbar. 
And the East see thy morn hide the beams of her star. 
New bards, and new sages, unrival'd shall soar 
To fame, unextinguished, when time is no more; 
To thee, the last refuge of virtue designed, 
Shall fly from all nations the best of mankind; 
Here, grateful to heaven, with transport shall bring 
Their incense, more fragrant than odors of spring. 



73 

Nor less shall thy fair ones to glory ascend, 
And genius and beauty in harmony blend; 
The graces of form shall awake pure desire, 
And the charms of the soul ever cherish the fire; 
Their sweetness unmingled, their manners refined, 
And virtue's bright image, instamped on the mind. 
With peace, and soft rapture, shall teach life to glow. 
And light up a smile in the aspect of woe. 

Thy fleets to all regions thy power shall display, 
The nations admire, and the ocean obey; 
Each shore to thy glory its tribute unfold, 
And the East and the South yield their spices and gold, 
As the day-spring unbounded, thy splendor shall flow, 
And earth's little kingdoms before thee shall bow, 
While the ensigns of union, in triumph unfurled, 
Hush the tumult of war, and give peace to the world. 

Thus, as down a lone valley, with cedars o'erspread. 
From war's dread confusion I pensively strayed — 
The gloom from the face of fair heaven retired; 
The winds ceased to murmur; the thunders expired; 
Perfumes, as of Eden, flowed sweetly along. 
And a voice, as of angels, enchant! ngly sung : 
" Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise, 
The queen of the world, and the child of the skies," 

Joel Benedict, D. D., pastor of the church in Lisbon, 
1771-1782, and in Plainfield, 1784-1816. 

During the Revolution he showed himself always decidedly 
and warmly attached to his country's cause. His friend, Dr. 
Hart, (of Griswold,) and himself sympathized in relation. to 
this subject, as well as almost every other, and though not 
directly and officially connected with the war, they hesitated 
not to show themselves, on all proper occasions, in public 
and in private, the staunch friends and supporters of liberty. 
(Sprague.) 

Levi Hart, D. D. — Griswold, 1 762-1 808. During the 
Revolutionary War he showed himself zealous for his coun- 
try's independence ; and while he was distressed by the 
scenes of bloodshed and devastation by which the war was 
attended, he had nevertheless the utmost confidence that we 
were engaged in a righteous cause. "In August, i775> he 
10 



74 

visited the camp at Roxbury, and preached twice on the Sab- 
bath to Colonel Parsons' regiment. In 1783 he delivered a 
discourse to an assembly convened at Fort Griswold, Groton, 
commemorative of those gallant men who fell there in de- 
fense of their country — Colonel Ledyard at their head — on 
the 6th of September, 1781. His subject was, "The Causes, 
the Origin, and Progress of the War, with its Dreadful Ef- 
fects." It breathed a spirit of patriotism, sympathy, and 
piety. The original MS. is still in existence. (Sprague, I : 

59I-) 

Mather Byles, New London, 175 7- 1768 ; son of the 
famous witty and loyal pastor of the Hollis Street church in 
Boston. 

He sympathized with his father in his attachment to the 
goverr^ment of the mother country, and with his sisters, who 
lived and died in the old family mansion in Boston, (1835 and 
1837,) acknowledging no allegiance except to the British sov- 
ereign. On the accession of William IV to the throne, one 
of them addressed to him a congratulatory epistle, assuring 
him that the family of Dr. Byles never had renounced, and 
never would renounce, their allegiance to the British crown. 

Ephraim Judson, Norwich, Second church, '71-78. An 
enthusiastic supporter of the Revolution, Slow and monoto- 
nous in his speech on other topics, on subjects connected 
with the liberties of the nation, he would kindle into the fer- 
vor of soul-stirring eloquence. In the year i 'j'j^, he entered 
the army as Chaplain of Col. Ward's regiment, and did faith- 
ful service for some months. Disabled by the hardships and 
exposures which he encountered in the camp, and in the 
field, he returned to his people, a confirmed invalid. In 1778 
he tendered his resignation, alleging as one reason, " useful- 
ness obstructed by infirm health." (Calkins, 468.) 

Benjamin Lord, D D., Norwich, First church, 1 717-1784. 
Dr. Lord was more than 80 years of age at the breaking out 
of the war. His last appearance in the pulpit was on the 
Thanksgiving subsequent to the declaration of peace — an 



75 

event which he had often expressed a wish to witness. Dur- 
ing the war the current of events was made a topic in his 
Sunday morning prayer, which occupied a full run of the 
hour-glass at his side. One Sunday morning he gave in his 
prayer a somewhat detailed account of an important battle, 
which, in the (afternoon) on the receipt of more recent news, 
he was compelled to contradict. 

Joseph Strong, D.D., Norwich, First church, 1 778-1 834. 
Soon after the installation of Dr. Strong, Lafayette passing 
through town with a detachment of 2,000 men, encamped on 
the plain, and in the morning invited Mr. Strong, the pastor 
of the place to pray with them, which he did. 

Nathaniel Whitaker, Norwich, Second church, 1 761-1769. 
Mr. Whitaker published two sermons, "An Antidote against 
and the Reward of Toryism," — one at the commencement, 
the other at the close of the Revolutionary War. He was 
a Presbyterian, a Controversialist, and stayed but a short 
time in a place. 

Joseph Fish, North Stonington, 1 732-1 781. Rev. M. N 
Morris says of him, (Sprague, i : 362.) As a subject of the 
king he was loyal, but with a warm patriotism, he espoused 
the cause of his country. In the last year of his life, and 
near the close of the war of independence, he was invited to 
address his fellow-townsmen assembled to meet the call of 
Gen. Washington, for an immediate reinforcement, and in his 
speech he declared ; "were it not that my nerves are unstrung 
and my limbs enfeebled with age, on such a call as you have, 
I think I should willingly quit the desk, put off my priestly 
garments, buckle on the harness, and, with trumpet in hand, 
hasten to the battle." 

Prof. Benjamin Silliman, his grandson, says of him : " One 
of the most remarkable of his letters is that addressed to my 
father, Gen. Silliman, July 2, 1776, when he was on the point 
of taking the field in the great cause of the American Revo- 
lution. He decidedly enjoins it upon him, from the highest 
motives of Christian duty and patriotism, to leave his wife 



16 

and his happy home to encounter the hazards of war for the 
most noble of causes." The Professor adds, " The letter is 
well worthy of being published as a specimen of the spirit 
which actuated the good clergymen of that day." 

Prof. Silliman, in a letter to Dr. Sprague, continues : 
Although Mr. Fish was now more than seventy years old he 
made a journey, in 1776, to the American camp on Harlem 
Heights and remained several days with my father in his 
military quarters, the powerful armies of the British being in 
sight, and conflicts on the outposts not unfrequently taking 
place. (Sprague, i : 365.) 

Zebulon Ely, Lebanon, 1 782-1 824; Yale, 1779. Dr. 
Sprague says of him, (2 : 192), "When the British were ap- 
proaching New Haven in July of his senior year, he was 
employed at an advanced post in firing at them, in company 
with a few of his fellow-students. He kept his station 
behind a tree till he was left alone ; and before he was aware 
of it, a scouting party of the enemy concealed under the 
fence, was well nigh-upon him. He escaped however with 
the loss of his hat and coat in the chase, in which he was 
briskly followed by bullets." Associated afterwards with the 
Trumbulls, and Williamses, as he would not be likely to lose 
any of his patriotism. 

Rev. John Ellis, West Farms, Franklin, was Chaplain in 
the army of Col. Jedediah Huntington's regiment. He en- 
tered the army in 1776, and continued through the war — 
seven years. In 1779 he took a dismission from his people. 
After a ministry of ten years at Rehoboth, he returned to 
Franklin, where he died in 1805. No monument tells where 
his body lies. Miss Calkins says of him : " He was a man 
of energetic action, glowing with Christian enterprise. He 
took a lively interest in those pioneer missions to the West 
which preceded the formation of the' Connecticut Missionary 
Society, was agent and treasurer of the General Association 
for New London County." 

Andrew Lee, D.D., Hanover, 1768-1832. Dr. Cogswell 



77 

of Windham, often mentions him in his diary. He often 
speaks of his glowing patriotism during the Revolution, and 
even doubts whether his zeal in sustaining the American 
cause did not sometimes outstrip his prudence. (Sprague, 
I : 6/2.) 

Rev. Nathaniel Eells, Stonington, 1 762-1 786. The 
records of the General Assembly tell us that " Rev. Nathan- 
iel Ellis of Stonington, was appointed Chaplain of the regi- 
ment to be raised and stationed at and near New London." 
The name should undoubtedly have been written Eells, as 
there was in Stonington, at that time, no minister or layman 
of the name of Nathaniel Ellis. The records of the church 
and society, however, make no mention of his connection 
with the army. (See letter of Hon. Richard A. Wheeler.) 

In a Thanksgiving sermon, preached November 20, 1777, 
immediately after the defeat of Burgoyne, he says : 

" God has blessed the arms of the country with victory and 

success, beyond our most sanguine expectations 

Hereby that part of our land, tossed and shaken, enjoys rest 
and quietness : Our secret and intestine enemies stunned 
and disheartened, new life an4 spirit conveyed to our armies, 
and all the inhabitants of the land, animated with strength 
and gladness to congratulate one another, and to praise the 
Lord most high. And what a damp must this prove to the 
European troops, when they hear that the Lord is with us to 
fight our battles and to pull down our enemies. And when 
the news does cross the Atlantic, [no cable telegraph,] and 
pierce the ears of the king and ministry, and parliament of 
Great Britain, how will they gnash their teeth and melt away 
to hear that their boasted general, and so great a part of their 
chosen troops are become a prey to the poor Americans, 
whom they so evilly treated, so cruelly despised and op- 
pressed." 

Rev. Stephen Johnson, Lyme, 1 746-1 786. Harpers 
Magazine for February, 1876, p. 319, gives an account of the 
part which this gentleman bore in the early movements of 
the Revolution. 



78 

He had for a parishioner John M'Curdy, a Scotch Irish 
gentleman of wealth and education, occupying and owning 
the house now the residence of the Hon. Charles J. M'Curdy. 
"The two had many conferences on the subject of the possi- 
ble independence of the colonies. They grew indignant at 
the serene composure of Gov. Fitch and his associates. 
The first published article pointing toward unqualified rebel- 
lion in case an attempt was made to enforce the stamp act 
was from the pen of Rev. Stephen Johnson, and it was writ- 
ten under this roof. M'Curdy privately secured its insertion 
in the Connecticut Gazette. It was a fiery article, designed 
to rouse the community to a sense of the public danger. 

Others of a similar character soon followed ; while pam- 
phlets from, no one knew whence, fell, no one knew how, into 
conspicuous places. 

Could these walls speak, what tales they might reveal ; two 
sagacious and audacious men trying to kindle a fire ; one 
feeding it with the chips of genius and strong nervous mag- 
netism, the other fanning it with the contents of his broad 
purse. The alarm was sounded ; organizations of the ' Sons 
of Liberty' were formed in the various colonies ; treasonable 
resolves were handed about with great privacy in New York, 
but no one had the courage to print them." John M'Curdy 
took a copy and soon they were published and spread far and 
wide through New England. This was in September 1765, 
Before the close of the month, the famous crusade, (which 
embraced nearly every man in the town of Lyme,) moved 
from New London and Windham counties against Mr. Inger- 
soU, the stamp commissioner. "It was then and there that 
the ^g% of the Revolution may be said to have been hatched." 

MR. AVERY TO ABRAM MARSH. 

Thomas Brockway was the pastor of the Congregational 
church in Columbia, (then Lebanon church,) during the Rev- 
olutionary War. He was born in Lyme, Conn., in the year 
1744. He was graduated at Yale College in 1768. He was 
ordained as pastor, June 24, 1772, and died while on a visit 
to his native place, July 4, 1807, having held the pastorate 



79 

thirty-five years. His funeral was attended in Columbia, July 
6, the sermon being preached by Rev. Zebulon Ely of Leba- 
non, from Hebrews 13: y, 8. The slab resting over his grave 
bears this inscription : "As an husband, he was tender ; as a 
father, affectionate ; and as a friend, sincere. As a minister 
of Christ, he shunned not to declare all the counsel of God, 
and was wise in turning men to righteousness." His child- 
ren were three sons and ten daughters. Rev. Diodate Brock- 
way, pastor of the Congregational church in Ellington, Conn., 
1 799- 1 849, was one of his sons. 

Mr. Brockway was small in stature, but of a bold spirit and 
warm in his advocacy of his country's independence. It is a 
tradition, believed by persons now living, to be trustworthy, 
that during public worship, on the Sabbath or lecture day, 
news came of the burning of New London by the British 
under Arnold, and that Mr. Brockway dismissed the congre- 
gation and " started off with his long gun, and deacons and 
parishioners to assist in doing battle with the enemy."* That 
he was willing to share with his people in the pecuniary 
struggles of that time is clearly shown from the record of the 
Ecclesiastical Society under date October 18, 1779. His 
salary was ;£90 a year, and from the depreciation of the cur- 
rency, had fallen behind to the amount of ^196. And then 
we have this record : — "Out of the £ig6 Mr. Brockway pro- 
poses to grant ;£90, — £4$ for tax and actual service, which 
is ^15 a year for three years past ; the other ;£"45 he gives, 
the one half to the parish, the other half to support the gos- 
pel for the poor of the parish, to be disposed of according to 
the discretion of the society committee. And for the time 
to come Mr. Brockway proposes to give ;£i5 a year till the 
enemy withdraw, and after they withdraw, ;£io a year till the 
Continental debt be paid, and the remainder to be made good 
as when he settled. 

"The above proposals of Mr. Brockway were, this i8th day 
of October, 1779, publicly, at a legal society meeting, read 
and explained, and after reasonable time of consideration it 
was put to vote whether the parish accept of Mr. Brockway's 
proposals, and voted in the affirmative." 

* Sprague's Annals, Vol. I, p. 605, Note. 



8o 

The following is from a MS. letter received from Miss El- 
len Larned, of Thompson, Conn. : 

*' I think that all the ministers of Windham county were 
earnest patriots during the Revolution, helping first to form 
public opinion, and giving to the last all public aid and com- 
fort to the popular cause. At a meeting of the Windham 
County Association in 1777, it was agreed that, 'considering 
the peculiar circumstances of our land during the present 
calamities of war, wherewith the holy and righteous God is 
pleased to exercise us, the declension of religion and preva- 
lence of iniquity, we think it our duty to stir up ourselves 
and the people of our charge, to a diligent attention to our 
duties, and propose the Gen. Association to recommend pro- 
fessors of religion to renew their covenant with God, that 
family religion and order might be maintained, &c.' " An ad- 
dress to that effect was accordingly prepared, printed, and a 
thousand copies distributed among the twenty parishes of 
Windham county. 

Rev. Ebenezer Devotion, of Scotland parish, though dy- 
ing before the breaking out of the war, deserves to be ranked 
among the patriot clergy of the Revolution. He was a man 
of strong character, and much influence. His fellow-citizens 
in Windham showed their confidence in his judgment by 
sending him as their representative to the General Assembly 
in the Stamp Act agitation of 1765, which was, according to 
Dr. Stiles, " a very singular instance." His successor, Rev. 
James Cogswell, was a warm friend of the patriot cause, 
and after the return of peace, was selected to preach the 
celeb7'ation sermon at Windham, which was received with 
great approbation. 

Rev. Abiel Leonard, of Woodstock, was deeply con- 
cerned in Revolutionary affairs. In May, 1775, he was ap- 
pointed chaplain of the Third Connecticut regiment, at the 
earnest request of General Putnam. He is described " as a 
man of noble presence, a finished gentleman in manners, and 
an accomplished pulpit orator." He was very popular in the 
army, and officiated on many public occasions to great ac- 
ceptance. July 18, 1775, all the companies under General 



8i 

Putnam's immediate command assembled on Prospect Hill 
to hear the Declaration of Congress, setting forth the causes 
and necessity of the war, and receive the elegant new stand- 
ard presented by Connecticut. Mr. Leonard read the Declara- 
tion, and " made an animated, pathetic, and highly patriotic 
address to the army, followed by a pertinent prayer." You 
will see in Dr. Tarbox's Life of Putnam several allusions to 
Mr, Leonard's public ministration. Besides these he was 
active in providing religious reading for the soldiers. I have 
seen a notice of " A Prayer composed for the benefit of the 
soldiery in the American Army to assist them in their pri- 
vate devotions, by Abiel Leonard, Chaplain to Gen. Putnam's 
regiment," Cambridge : printed by S. E. Hall, 1775. It was 
said to be in nine pages ; " a highly creditable performance," 
but I have not been able to find it. It is well worth notice, 
as, perhaps, the first attempt to furnish religious literature 
for soldiers. 

The church at Woodstock was very reluctant to relinquish 
their pastor, but yielded to the call of their country. The fol- 
lowing letter will show you the estimate in which he was 
held: 

" To the Church and Congregatio7t at Woodstock : 

"Mr. Leonard is a man whose exemplary life and conversation must 
make him highly esteemed by every person who has the pleasure of be- 
ing acquainted with him. It therefore can be no surprise to us to hear 
they are loth to part with him. His influence in the army is great. He 
is employed in the glorious work of attending to the morals of a brave 
people who are fighting for their liberties — the liberties of the people of 
Woodstock — the liberty of all America. We therefore hope that know- 
ing how nobly he is employed, the congregation of Woodstock will 
cheerfully give up to the public a gentleman so very useful, and when by 
the blessing of a kind Providence this glorious and unparalleled strug- 
gle for our liberties is at an end, we have not the least doubt that Mr. 
Leonard will with redoubled joy be received in the open arms of a con- 
gregation so very dear to him as the good people of Woodstock are. 
This is what is hoped for — this is what is expected by the congregation 
of Woodstock's sincere well wishers and very humble servants, 

George Washington, 

Israel Putnam." 
Headquarters, Cambridge, > 
24th of March, 1776. ) 
II 



82 

Mr. Leonard went with the army to New York, and con- 
tinued to serve as chaplain to General Putnam. In 1777 he 
received the degree of S. T. D. from New Jersey College. 
His end was most unfortunate. Overstaying his furlough in 
consequence of sickness in his family, he was met on his re- 
turn to camp by the news of his supersedure. Very impul- 
sive by nature, and keenly sensitive to applause or censure, 
he was unable to endure the disgrace and mortification, and 
took his life with his own hand. 

Rev. Elisha Atkins, afterwards pastor of the First church 
of Killingly, served as chaplain during the war. 

FROM A MS. LETTER RECEIVED FROM MISS ELLEN LEARNED, 

OF THOMPSON. 

Election sermons were preached in Connecticut from 1674 
until 1830, or thereabouts — in all, 156 years. To preach 
these sermons, men of the first ability were appointed by the 
Governor. These sermons were expected to treat of the 
sins, the dangers, and the duties of the year. They thus are 
the exponents of the temper of the times during this period, 
and are therefore, historically, of considerable value. 

From a sermon delivered in 1766, by Jonathan Lee, of 
Sahsbury ; born, 171 8; Yale College, 1742; died, 1788: 

" Dominion, or right to rule, is evidently founded neither 
in nature or grace, but compact, and confederation." 

From a sermon delivered in 1770, by Stephen Johnson, 
of Lyme ; born, 1725 ; Yale College, 1743 ; died, 1786 : 

** We rejoice, we boast in the British constitution, and in 
our royal charter, the best privileges and immunities, the 
happiest constitution and form of government in the whole 
world ; the next matter of highest moment to us, to our en- 
joyment of the best blessings we can hope from civil polity, is 
a good administration pursuant to the spirit and grand inten- 
tion of it. 

" It were ingratitude to God, and to our British sovereigns, 
not to acknowledge we have generally enjoyed ample indul- 
gence and protection of our liberties and privileges under the 



83 

administration of the British court ; especially since the glo- 
rious revolution. But justice requires it to be said, we have 
ever made answerable returns of affection and loyalty, duty, 
and obedience. We never betrayed their trusts, their confi- 
dence, or their interests ; but every requisition constitution- 
ally made, has been readily answered with duty and loyalty, 
to the good acceptance of His Majesty and the British 
court. 

" This day brings us the recognition and enjoyment of the 
important privileges we hold ; by the spirit of the British 
constitution and by our royal charter — privileges more pre- 
cious than the gold of Ophir, and of greater importance to the 
welfare of human society, than all the treasures of the 
Indies " 

From a sermon preached in 1775, by Joseph Perry, of 
East Windsor; born, 1733; Harvard College, 1752; died, 
1783.! 

" In this State have they endured with great patience and 
fortitude, till at length we are assured, by good intelligence, 
open hostility is commenced by the king's soldiers. In the 
late battle at Concord and Lexingtoii, mglorious to the British 
arms ! they have imbrued their hands in the innocent blood 
of their fellow subjects with a relentless cruelty and inhuman 
barbarity, too much like that we have experienced from the 
merciless savages of the wilderness. 

" The metropolis of that unhappy province is now become 
a garrison town, the inhabitants, by thousands, confined 
within its walls, in the greatest consternation, from fearful 
apprehensions of being put to the sword, or of perishing by 
famine. 

'* As members of a community, our interests are at stake 
as well as others ; — whatever, therefore, is proper for us to do 
in our places, should be diligently attended to ; we should 
encourage our people, and animate them to stand firm in the 
liberties wherewith God, Nature, and Christianity have 
made them Free, and never thro' fear of suffering loss, or 
any temptation, basely give up the rights of Men and Chris- 
tians ; for, as on the one hand, he that in his way, shall seek 



84 

to save his life, shall lose it ; so, on the other, he that shall 
lose his life, in religiously supporting so good a cause, shall 
find it, and in the end shall receive an hundred fold." 

From a sermon preached in 1777, by John Devotion, of 
Saybrook; born, 1738; Yale College, 1754; died, 1802: 

"Britons, elate with confidence in martial skill, looking 
down with disdainful contempt on the sons of America, 
marched out to Lexington, in all the pride of vainglorying. 
American annals record the memorable mom. Ye fields, be 
witness of innocent blood — that first opening of the sluices 
not yet shut. They returned under the influence of a panic 
which the Lord of Hosts suffers to fall upon self-sufficient 
creatures. When our brethren, not yet suitably arranged, 
near Charlestown, took the ground, fierce wafted o'er the 
British Legions came, boasting their intended route through 
Cambridge, Roxbury, and Boston Neck : like sheep to the 
slaughter, their road * through the dark valley of the shadow 
of death,' oft trod by mortals never to return, till the arch- 
angel, with the trump of God arouse them. 

"God's servants in authority, should imitate him * all whose 
ways are judgment ;' who speaks ' in righteousness.' America 
gi'oaning under the most barbarous treatment — condemned, 
unheard — her children pronounced rebels, when in the peace 
of God and the king — ^praying for the welfare of the king, 
and nation ; sentenced to be dragged away in chains to Brit- 
ain, upon suspicion of crimes : — troops let loose upon us, 
sheathing their swords in the bowels of them, whose honest 
industry fed great numbers in the British isle, loudly calls 
upon you, to form laws in righteousness, consonant to the 
mild and equitable government of Zion's King." 

From a sermon delivered in i yjZ, by Chauncey Whittle- 
sey of New Haven; born, 171 8; Yale College, 1738; died, 

1787: 

"We are naturally led to reflect, with gratitude, upon the 
distinguishing goodness of God towards this Colony or State, 
from its beginning down to this day ; his distinguishing good- 
ness in providing for this people, and raising up and setting 



8s 

over them, such a succession of pious and godly rulers ; who 
under the influence of the great principles of religion, and 
the fear of God, have sought diligently the public weal, and 
been eminently useful in their day. What province, state or 
kingdom, from the beginning of the world, to this time, has 
been, in this respect, more highly favored, than Connecticut ? 
I know not any. And hence this has been one of the 
most happy provinces upon the face of the earth." 

From a sermon delivered in 1780, by Nathan Williams 
of Tolland; born, 1735 ; Yale College, 1755; died, 1829: 

" Disinterested benevolence is a Christian virtue that binds 
the hearts of good men to their fellow creatures ; but it rarely 
operates as a principle in state police. Self-interest is the 
great bond of union between states and kingdoms. From 
hence also all the advantages which these American planta- 
tions derived from their connections with Great Britain ; and 
from the same source have arisen also those many instances 
of unkindness and oppression, under which- America has 
groaned. 

"This principle, with an infatuating blindness (often its 
attendant), drove the British king, with many subordinate tools 
of despotism to such a series of oppression, as could not fail 
to dissolve every bond that connected America with Britain ; 
and forced the former to act upon that hmate principle of self- 
defense, by repelling force with force. 

"This hazardous, but just and needful war, has been pros- 
ecuted by America, with that unremitting ardor, in the midst 
of countless difficulties, which nothing but a lively sense of 
the justice and great importance of the cause could inspire. 

"•And as this contest has been in defense of that liberty 
which is a foundation-blessing, giving value to every other 
good, — every individual has been deeply interested in it. 
Hence, he ought to feel and acknowledge himself under very 
great personal obligations to his country, for all that blood 
and treasure she has expended in the present calamitous war. 
And whilst we bow the knee in humble gratitude to that 
God, who doeth his pleasure, without control, for his many 
wonderful and gracious interpositions for this American em- 



86 

pire — we ought to acknowledge our obligations to those many 
patrons of human liberty, who have stept forth in their coun- 
try's cause ; denied themselves the solid pleasures of domes- 
tic society ; hazarded the loss of ease, yea, and of life itself, 
by boldly venturing where thickest dangers come, — and have 
perhaps themselves received the fatal thrust designed for hu- 
man freedom." 

From a sermon delivered in 1783, by Ezra Stiles, D.D., 
President of Yale College ; born, 1727 ; Yale College, 1746; 
died, 1795. 

" The crown and glory of our confederacy is the amphicty- 
onic cotmcil of the General Congress standing on the an- 
nual election of the united respective states, and revocable at 
pleasure. — Page 23. 

"Jefferson, who poured the soul of the continent into the 
monumental act of Independence." 

"TO governor TRUMBULL. 

" I beg leave, in the first place, with the greatest honor, the 
most profound and dutiful respect, to address myself to his 
excellency, the Governor of this State. 

" May it please your Excellency, we account ourselves 
happy, most illustrious Sire, that by the free election and 
annual voice of the citizens, God hath for so many years past 
called you up to the supreme magistracy in this common- 
wealth. And while we rejoice that this State embosoms 
numerous characters equal to the highest offices of govern- 
ment : yet should this day's election fall again upon him, who, 
according to the interpretation of his name, Jehovah hath 
given iiSy it would diffuse a joy through the United States. 

"And should you now resign the chair, you would enjoy the 
reflection that you had been carried through a scene of the 
most distinguished usefulness, and lived to see the end of 
the war and establishment of American liberty and Inde- 
pendence. 

"It is observable, that, by a particular turn of genius and a 
peculiar discipline in early life, God often prefaces great char- 
acters, for that future usefulness and eminence, for which 



87 

they are designed in the world. This was conspicuous in 
the instances of yosefh, Moses, and Daniel: neither of whom, 
in youth, thought that they were training up for the eminent 
spheres of action in which they afterwards moved. 

" Endowed with a singular strength of the mental powers, 
with a vivid and clear perception, with a penetrating and 
comprehensive judgment, embellished with the acquisition of 
academical, theological, and political erudition, your Excellency 
became qualified for a very singular variety of usefulness in 
life. Instituted in the sciences^ the Hebrew literatiire, and 
theology, you were not only prepared for the sanctuary, but 
being expert in all questions touching the law of your God, 
you became qualified to judge how we, the Ministers of the 
Gospel under your government ought to behave ourselves in 
the hoiLse of God ; while it has pleased God to call you up to 
other services in civil life. Thus the great Melchisedec was 
priest of the Most High God, and King of Salem. So Mo- 
ses, though of the tribe of Levi and learned in all the wisdom 
of Egypt, was called of God to be King in Jerusalem. 

" An early entrance into civil improvement, and fifty years' 
service of our country, with an uncommon activity and dis- 
patch in business, had familiarized the whole rota of duty in 
every oflfice and department, antecedent and preparatory to 
the great glory of your Excellency's life, the last eight years' 
administration at the head of this commonwealth ; an admin- 
istration which has rendered you the Pater Patrice, the Fa- 
ther of your country, and our didce decus atque tutamett. 

" We adore the God of our fathers, the God and Father of 
the spirits of all flesh, that he hath raised you up for such a 
time as this ; and that he hath put into your breast a wisdom, 
which I cannot describe without adulation — a patriotism and 
intrepid resolution, a noble and independent spirit, an uncon- 
querable love of LIBERTY, RELIGION, and our COUN- 
TRY, and that grace, by which you have been carried through 
the arduous labors of an high office, with a dignity and glory 
never before acquired by an American Governor. Our 
enemies revere the names of TRUMBULL and WASH- 
INGTON. 



88 

"In honoring the State and councils of Connecticut, you, 
ilkistrious Sire, have honored yourself to all the confederate 
sister states, to the Congress, to the Gallic empire, to Eu- 
rope, and to the world, to the present and distant ages. And 
should you now lay down your office, and retire from public 
life, we trust that you may take this people to record, in the 
language in which that holy patriot, the pious Samuel, ad- 
dressed Israel^ and say unto us — I am old, and grey-headed — 
and I have walked before you front my childhood unto this 
day. Behold, here I am, witness against me before the Lord: 
whose ox have I takeji ? or whose ass have I taken ? or whom 
have I defrauded ? whom have I oppressed ? or of whom have 
I received any bribe, to blind my eyes therewith ? and I will 
restore it you. And they said thou hast not defrauded nor 
oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any ma?ts hand. 
And he said unto them, the Lord is witness against you, and 
his Anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught 
in my hand. And they answered, he is witness. 

" May you receive a reward from the supreme Governor of 
the Universe ; which will be a reward of grace. For although 
your Excellency might adopt the words of that illustrious 
governor Nehemiah, and say, think upon me, my God, for 
good, according to all that I have done for this people, yet your 
ultimate hope for immortality, will be founded in a more glo- 
rious merit, than that achieved by mortals, in the most illus- 
trious scenes of public usefulness. May the momentary 
remnant of your days be crowned with a placid tranquility. 

" And when you shall have finished your work on earth, may 
you be received to the rewards of the just, and shine in the 
general assembly of the first-born through eternal ages. 
Amen." — Pages Zj, ZZ, 89, 90. 



89 



CONCLUDING STATEMENTS. 

In the articles of peace in the treaty of September, 1783, 
Connecticut was acknowledged by George III to be what 
she claimed to be in the Declaration of Independence — a " free 
and independent State." 

" The meteor flag " of England, borne by the incendiary 
troops of Gov. Tryon, no longer struck terror in the hearts of 
the inhabitants, fleeing from their burning houses in Dan- 
bury, Norwalk, Fairfield, and New Haven. The murderers 
of Ledyard, led on by Benedict Arnold, no longer threatened 
the inhabitants of New London. The British ships that for 
so many years had vexed Long Island Sound, had left these 
waters. The people of Connecticut could now securely sleep 
under the ample fold of her own flag, which her sons had gal- 
lantly upheld during a seven years' war, and could sit under 
their own three vines, having none to molest or make them 
afraid. The returned soldiers might in their sleep be startled 
by visions of Bunker Hill, Ticonderoga, Valley Forge, Mon- 
mouth, or Germantown, but could awake in the morning un- 
der the roof-tree of their own home, to hear the voices of loved 
ones, and to enjoy the good cheer always given by Connecti- 
cut housewives. 

The people of Connecticut seemed universally to rejoice 
in the results of the war. 

We have seen how Governor Jonathan Trumbull, for his 
services in the Revolution, was glorified in the General As- 
sembly in 1783. In the flushing of their hopes at this time, 
the people of Connecticut were willing to glorify the minis- 
ters for their services in the Revolution, for their wise coun- 
sels, for their moral courage in times of darkness and danger, 
for the cheerfulness with which they suffered pecuniary loss 
in the depreciation of continental money, in which their sala- 
ries were paid, and for nobly keeping up heart and hope when 
others were discouraged. 

The pulpit was at this time a throne of power. The white 
wig was a crown of glory, and the voice of the minister was 

12 



90 

like the voice of the morning, waking the people into the ac- 
tivities of life. 

The people were willing to bestow all due honor upon the 
order for their services in the past history of the Common- 
wealth. 

The following description of the ministers of Connecticut 
at that time, is from the pen of one of their number, Rev. 
Timothy Dwight, in his poem entitled " Greenfield Hill " : 

Ah ! knew he but his happiness, of men 
Not the least happy he, who, free from broils. 
And base ambition, vain and bustling pomp. 
Amid a friendly cure and competence, 
Tastes the pure pleasures of parochial life. 

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

Though oft compelled to meet the gross attack 

Of shameless ridicule, and towering pride. 

Sufficient good is his; good, real, pure. 

With guilt unmingled. Rarely forced from home. 

Around his board, his wife and children smile; 

Communion sweetest, nature here can give, 

Each fond endearment, office of delight, 

With love and duty blending. Such the joy. 

My bosom oft has known. His, too, the task. 

To rear the infant plants, that bud around ; 

To ope their little minds to truth's pure light ; 

To take them by the hand, and lead them on. 

In that straight, narrow road, where virtue walks; 

To guard them from a vain, deceiving world; 

And point their course to realms of promised life. 

His, too, the esteem of those, who weekly hear 
His words of truth divine; unnumbered acts 
Of real love attesting, to his eye. 
Their filial tenderness. Where'er he walks, 
The friendly welcome and inviting smile 
Wait on his steps, and breathe a kindred joy. 

Oft, too, in friendliest association joined. 
He greets his brethren, with a flowing heart, 
Flowing with virtue; all rejoiced to meet 
And all reluctant parting; every aim, 
Benevolent, aiding with purpose kind; 
While, seasoned with unblemished cheerfulness, 
Far distant from the tainted mirth of vice. 



91 

Their hearts disclose each contemplation sweet 
Of things divine; and blend in friendship pure, 
Friendship sublimed by piety and love. 

All Virtue's friends are his : the good, the just, 

The pious, to his house their visits pay, 

And converse high hold of the true, the fair, 

The wonderful, the moral, the divine : 

Of saints, and prophets, patterns bright of truth", 

Lent to a world of sin, to teach mankind, 

How virtue, in that world, can live, and shine; 

Of Learning's varied realms; of Nature's work; 

And that blessed Book, which gilds man's darksome way, 

With light from heaven, of blest Messiah's throne 

And kingdom, prophecies divine fulfilled. 

And prophecies more glorious yet to come, 

In renovated days; of that bright world, 

And all the happy trains which that bright world 

Inhabit, whither virtue's sons are gone : 

While God the whole inspires, adorns, exalts. 

The source, the end, the substance, and the soul. 

This, too, the task, the blessed, the useful task. 
To invigor order, justice, law, and rule ; 
Peace to extend, and bid contention cease; 
To teach the words of life; to lead mankind 
Back from the wild of guilt, and brink of woe, 
To Virtue's house and family; faith, hope. 
And joy to inspire; to warm the soul 
With love to God, and man; to cheer the sad. 
To fix the doubting, rouse the languid heart; 
The wanderer to restore; to spread with down 
The thorny bed of death; console the poor, 
Departing mind, and aid its lingering wing. 
To him, her choicest pages Truth expands, 
Unceasing, where the soul-intrancing scenes, 
Poetic fiction boasts, are real all; 
Where beauty, novelty, and grandeur, wear 
Superior charms, and moral worlds unfold 
Sublimities, transporting and divine. 

Not all the scenes Philosophy can boast, 
Tho' them with nobler truths he ceaseless blends, 
Compare with these. They, as they found the mind, 
Still leave it; more informed, but not more wise. 
These wiser, nobler, better, make the man. 



92 

Thus every happy mean of solid good 

His life, his studies, and profession yield. 

With motives hourly new, each rolling day, 

Allures through Wisdom's path, and Truth's fair field. 

His feet to yonder skies. Before him heaven 

Shines bright, the scope sublime of all his prayers, • 

The meed of every sorrow, pain, and toil. 

Then, O ye happy few ! whom God allows 
To stand His messengers, in this bad world, 
And call mankind to virtue, weep no more, 
Though pains and toils betide you; for what life, 
On earth, from pains and toils was ever free ? 
When Wealth and Pride around you gayly spread 
Their vain and transient splendor, envy not. 
How oft (let Virtue weep !) is this their all ? 
For you, in sunny prospect, daily spring 
Joys, which nor pride can taste, nor Wealth can boast; 
That, planted here, beyond the wintery grave 
Revive and grow with ever-vernal bloom. 

Hail these, oh hail ! and be 't enough for you, 
To 'scape a world unclean; a life to lead 
Of usefulness, and truth; a Prince to serve. 
Who suffers no sincere and humble toil 
To miss a rich reward; in Death's dark vale. 
To meet unbosomed light; beyond the grave 
To rise triumphant, freed from every stain. 
And cloth'd with every beauty; in the sky 
Stars to outshine; and, round th' eternal year. 
With saints, with angels, and with Christ to reign. 

Soon after the Declaration of Independence, the attention 
of the several states was turned to the plan brought forward 
in the Continental Congress, forming a federation or federal 
union between them. 

But the states were divided in opinion concerning what 
powers should be granted to the new proposed govern- 
ment, and what should be withheld. For instance, Connec- 
ticut recommended the following amendment : " Provided 
that no land army shall be kept up by the United States in 
time of peace, nor any officers nor pensioners kept in pay by 
them, who are not in actual service, except such as are, or 
may be rendered unable to support themselves by wounds re- 



93 

ceived in battle in the service of the said states, agreeably to 
the provisions already made by a resolution of Congress." It 
was not until March i, 1781, that all the states consented to 
become parties to this contract, by which this first Federal 
Constitution was established. As early as the autumn of 
1782 Connecticut began to feel the evils inflicted on her by 
Congress under this Federal Constitution. 

In the controversy between Connecticut and Pennsylvania 
for the Susquehanna lands, Congress virtually decided in 
favor of the claims of Pennsylvania, by giving her jurisdic- 
tion over the disputed lands, much to the chagrin and loss of 
the people of Connecticut, some of whom believed that the 
mother country would have given a different decision. Many 
of the people of Connecticut felt disappointed and humiliated 
by the Federal Congress thus giving the jurisdiction to 
Pennsylvania, and exposing the people of Connecticut to be 
dispossessed of the lands which they held ' under the title of 
Connecticut. It should be remembered that representatives 
from these lands had been members of the Connecticut Leg- 
islature. A satisfactory account of the whole matter may be 
found in a pamphlet of 115 pages, written by Rev. Benjamin 
Trumbull, D. D. 

In 1786 her sister states in Congress assembled showed 
the disposition to have a share in her grand patrimonial in- 
heritance of Western lands. She therefore found it prudent 
to grant a large part of those lands to the United States, on 
the implied condition of her retaining the lands in Ohio, 
called the Western Reserve. 

Not long after the treaty of peace between Great Britain 
and the United States, in 1783, certain evils consequent upon 
the war began to make their appearance. The people of the 
commonwealth began soberly to calculate what they had lost 
and what they had gained by the war. They had lost the 
friendship of the mother country ; "the bulwark of the Prot- 
estant faith ;" and they had gained the favor of the hereditary 
enemy of that country, a nation of Roman Catholics and 
Infidels. 

They had lost the advantages of the direct trade with Eng- 



94 

land, for which, in some cases, they had received a bounty on 
their exports, and were placed on a level with other nations. 
They had also lost the West India trade, which the people of 
Connecticut felt deeply. 

As they had in part lost their commerce, so they had lost 
the value of their agricultural products, by means of which 
they had carried on their commerce. The State was largely 
in debt, and destitute of means for paying it. They had gained 
the liberty which they sought, but, for a time, they found her 
not fruitful, but barren. 

Some of the people of Connecticut, in their disappointment 
at the result of the Revolution, cast longing eyes to Canada, 
and were ready to move there, in order to enjoy the advant- 
ages which they had lost by the war. 

There was a redundancy of labor, but little or no market 
for the productions of labor. 

Emigrants from Connecticut went to Canada, or to Ver- 
mont, or to different localities in the States of New York and 
Ohio. 

The first Federation, or Federal Union formed by the first 
Federal Constitution, proved to be unsatisfactory. 

In May, 1787, delegates appointed by the several states 
met in Philadelphia, and framed a new Constitution, and all 
the several states became parties to the contract, thus abol- 
ishing the first Federation and forming a second or new 
Federation, or Federal Union. 

Connecticut in the Convention at Philadelphia, found that 
the larger states formed the design of giving themselves the 
preeminence, and of degrading the smaller states. This 
degradation she escaped, only by the great exertions of her 
delegates, acting with other delegates from the smaller states. 

When the frame of the Constitution prepared in Philadel- 
phia was brought before a Convention in Hartford, appointed 
by the towns, January 4, 1788, Connecticut became a party 
to the contract by a vote of 128 in favor and 40 against. 

In some part of the period between the treaty of peace in 
1783 and the organization of the new government in 1789, 
when Washington was made President, and even afterwards, 
there was great disappointment as to the results of the war. 



95 

From a letter of Col. David Humphreys to Gen. Alexan- 
der Hamilton, it appears that the loyalists, from this depressed 
state of public feeling, borrowed some hopes that the union 
between the states and the British government, which had 
been severed by the war, might be restored. It is not strange 
that the ministers of Connecticut, who had promoted the 
Revolution, should lose, in this period, something of the high 
consideration which they once enjoyed in the public mind 
while this Revolution was in progress. 

The party in the state that advocated the new Federal 
Constitution was called Federal, and the party that opposed 
it, the Anti-Federal. 

The acts of the new or present Federal government when 
that went into operation likewise laid a foundation for party 
differences. 

The French Revolution, which, to some extent, grew out 
of the American Revolution, increased and intensified those 
differences. 

The ministers of Connecticut very generally belonged to 
the federal party, which, it is said, favored England. 

It should be remembered that many who returned from 
the war brought back its vices. " Our army swore dreadfully 
in Flanders," said Uncle Toby. Some of the Connecticut 
troops, when they returned, swore dreadfully, to the great 
disgust of their ministers and kindred. 

The great evils and immoralities connected with irredeem- 
able paper currency should likewise be taken into account. 

After the republican or democratic party was formed in 
Connecticut, it showed strong dissatisfaction with the Charter 
of Charles II, as the basis of the government of the state. 

In the long contest existing between Connecticut and the 
government of Great Britain, that government was considered 
as one source of power, and the people, that is, the people of 
Connecticut, as another source of power. 

By the central doctrine of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence already mentioned, the people of Connecticut were con- 
sidered as paramount to the government of Great Britain. 

The democfats went on to apply the same principle to the 



96 

government of Connecticut, existing at this time, and the 
people within its boundary. The people, it was said, were 
the source of all political power, '^ vox populi, vox Dei!' 

In the intercourse between the French and the Americans, 
the former had gained from the latter a knowledge of those 
political principles which were the basis of revolutionary ac- 
tion against Great Britain. This knowledge they carried back 
into France, and used it to promote the French Revolution. 
The Americans, on their part, had learned from the French 
loose notions of morals and religion, and their sneers against 
the clergy, and thus it happened that each nation, in the prac- 
tical use of the lessons taught by the other, became, in some 
respects, a loser. 

Some of the ministers of Connecticut, in their disgust at 
the repeated attempts and repeated failures of the people of 
France to form a government satisfactory to themselves, were 
inclined to think that the central doctrine of the Declaration 
of Independence was proved to be false by a rediLctio ad ab- 
surdum. Indeed, numbers of the ministers, if they had ex- 
pressed their feelings, would have been ready to adopt the 
language of Edmund Burke to Charles James Fox, in their 
celebrated passage-at-arms in parliament. "This cursed 
French Revolution envenoms everything." 

"All men are created equal," is a "glittering generality" 
in the Declaration of Independence, well adapted to the pur- 
pose which the writer had in view, but it was adopted by some 
who wished to destroy all the distinctions among men, taught 
by the " Assembly of Divines " Catechism ; by the Bible and 
by the common sense of man. The equality of men gradu- 
ally became a favorite doctrine among a portion of the people 
of the state and of the country. 

Twenty years ago, an Englishman, a Frenchman, and an 
American, all of them intelligent men, were engaged in a 
free conversation. The Englishman says : " I have traveled 
through the United States, and I found that the people of 
that country So not care much for liberty. What they love 
is equality. We Englishmen love liberty, but damn the equal- 
ity." The Frenchman said : " I have traveled through the 



97 

United States and through England. The Englishman talks 
about liberty, and the Americans love equality, but we French- 
men love fraternity, which is better than either." 

The ministers, who had hitherto been considered as supe- 
rior to the laity in intelligence, virtue, and good manners, 
found that after this doctrine had gained currency, they 
had lost something of the respect in the minds of some of 
the people which had formerly been entertained for them. 
They could say of them, as Paul said of some whom he taught : 
"Ye have reigned as kings without us (your teachers)." 

In the Revolution the writings of Thomas Paine had been 
popular among the people generally. Some of them were 
read at the head of the regiments. For a considerable pe- 
riod after the Revolution other writings of his, of an infidel 
character, were circulated among the people, which contribu- 
ted somewhat to lessen the influence of the ministers. 
About the same time certain religionists attacked the doc- 
trines, the dress, the learning and the manners of the minis- 
ters, and gained proselytes. 

The ministers were in a dilemma. While under the Brit- 
ish crown they had been in the habit, in their preaching, of 
forming public sentiment on all political subjects important 
to the colonies. They did this successfully, because there 
was, in fact, but one side present in the congregation. The 
people went along with them, because they advocated the 
rights of their people in opposition to British authority, but, 
at the time we are speaking of, their congregations were fre- 
quently divided into two parties ; if they should preach fed- 
eralism, a portion would be dissatisfied ; if they should preach 
democracy, another portion would be dissatisfied. If they 
should preach in favor of the French revolution, one portion 
of their people would be dissatisfied ; if they should preach 
in opposition to the French revolution, another portion would 
be dissatisfied, and thus they found that they must dismiss 
politics from the pulpit if they intended to retain both parties 
in their congregations. 

In the period of thirty years between the adoption of the 
Federal Constitution in Connecticut in 1788, and the adoption 

13 



98 

of the State Constitution in 1818, there were party differences 
of opinion which divided the population of Connecticut. One 
of the parties was made up of conservative men, inckiding 
nearly all the Congregational ministers, the largest portion of 
the members of the Congregational churches, and the sub- 
stantial, well-to-do people of the Congregational denomina- 
tion. The graduates of Yale College, the leading lawyers 
and physicians generally belonged to this party. It em- 
braced a large part of the wealthy men in the State. This 
party was denominated the Federal party. 

The other party was made up of progressive men, and in- 
cluded those who were discontented with the government of 
Connecticut, and who wanted a new constitution, in place of 
the charter of Charles II. To this party belonged the dis- 
senters from the Standing Order generally, the Baptists, the 
Universalists, the Methodists, after they commenced opera- 
tions in the State, in 1790, and the Episcopalians, in the 
latter portion of the term mentioned. This party was de- 
nominated the Democratic party, and after it was joined by 
the Episcopalians, the Toleration party. 

The democratic party advocated a new State constitution. 
They professed great love for the people, and felt that they 
were capable of forming a constitution that would be fur- 
nished with checks and guarantees that would prevent men 
in office from abusing their power. Their language was : 
We have changed our government once, by throwing off the 
authority of Great Britain ; we have changed it a second 
time, by adopting the first federal constitution ; we have 
changed it a third time, by adopting the present federal con- 
stitution ; and now let us change it a fourth time, by adopt- 
ing a new constitution for the State, just as each of the other 
states, excepting Rhode Island and Connecticut, has adopted 
a constitution of its own. 

The progressive party complained of the government of 
Connecticut, first, because it compelled the tax-payers to sup- 
port religion. The reason given by the conservative party 
for requiring all to support religion was, that all were bene- 
fited by religion, and, therefore, all should support religion, 



99 

just as they were required to support roads and bridges and 
schools, on the ground that all are benefited by roads and 
bridges and schools. 

They complained, secondly, that the members of Congress, 
and the assistants, were elected by a general ticket, instead 
of under the district system. To this complaint it was 
replied that abler representatives could be selected from 
the whole state by the general ticket, than by the district 
system. 

They complained, thirdly, that the possession of landed 
estate was made a qualification for exercising the right of suf- 
frage. To this it was replied that a property qualification 
was required, because only those who pay the taxes should 
vote the taxes, and, as a general rule, that every one who 
wished to become a voter, could, by industry and economy, 
obtain the property necessary to qualify him to be a voter. 
It could also be said that in other states, such as Virginia 
and South Carolina, where there was much political wisdom, 
and honor, and in Massachusetts, where there was so much 
general intelligence and thrift, a property qualification was 
deemed necessary and safe, as it was in the mother country, 
from which their fathers had emigrated. 

They complained, fourthly, that offices were held too long, 
and insisted that rotation in office was preferable. To this 
it was replied, that by rapid rotation in office the people 
would be served by apprentices, and not by master-workmen, 
who had had the benefit of experience. 

They complained, fifthly, that the Congregational denomi- 
nation was a privileged class. To this it was replied, that 
the Congregationalists had originally laid the foundations of 
the religious, political, and literary institutions of the state, 
and that if in consequence of this they enjoyed some privi- 
leges, it was not a ground for complaint. 

During this period there was much party excitement. In 
1 80 1, on the election of Mr. Jefferson to the Presidency, there 
was a festival held at Wallingford, in commemoration of the 
event. At this festival ten thousand people were estimated 
to be present. A sermon was delivered by Rev. Stanley 



100 

Griswold, of New Milford, from the text found in Romans, 
xii, 14-21 : '* Bless them who persecute you," etc. An oration 
was delivered by Abraham Bishop, and a song, entitled ** Jef- 
ferson and Liberty," was publicly sung for the first time. 

A similar meeting was held in other places, the last one at 
Litchfield, August 6, 1806, for the special purpose of encour- 
aging and relieving Selleck Osborn, the talented poet and 
editor of the Witness, who had long been incarcerated there. 
Several thousands were present on this occasion. 

" When Mr. Jefierson was elected President of the United 
States, many good men were exceedingly distressed and 
alarmed. The thought of having a Chief Magistrate who 
was understood to be an unbeliever, was extremely painful. 
Dr. Azel Backus participated in these feelings, and did not 
hesitate to express them in the pulpit. On this account he 
was prosecuted for a libel against Mr. Jefferson, and ar- 
raigned before the District Court of the United States. The 
cause, however, after having been repeatedly postponed, was 
finally dismissed, without coming to trial. 

" This prosecution excited great interest in Connecticut. 
Some of the most distinguished lawyers proffered their ser- 
vices to Dr. Backus, and numerous friends stood ready to de- 
fray all the expense to which he might be subjected. 

" There were some incidents connected with this prosecu- 
tion, which afforded much amusement to his friends. When 
he was first summoned to appear before the court, which was 
then sitting in Hartford, the marshal called on him very 
early in the morning, and informed him that it would be 
necessary that he should be in Hartford by twelve o'clock. 
He immediately prepared for the journey, and in company 
with the marshal, rode to Litchfield, about eight miles, before 
breakfast. While there, the Hon. Uriel Holmes, then mem- 
ber of Congress, furnished him with his own horse and car- 
riage, — his horse being a remarkably fleet and powerful 
animal. On starting for Hartford, the marshal, being on 
horseback, found it necessary to put spurs to his steed, to 
keep in sight of his prisoner. Coming near enough to call to 
him, he exclaimed, * Mr. Backus, you ride as if the d — 1 was 



lOI 

after you.' * Just so, just so,' he replied, and rode on not at 
all abating his speed." — (Sprague's Annals, vol. ii, p. 286.) 

Thus it appears that one party commenced prosecutions 
against Selleck Osborn under the laws of Connecticut, and 
the other party commenced prosecutions against Azel Backus, 
under the laws of the United States. 

The conservative party were very strongly attached to the 
government of Connecticut formed under the charter. For 
it had grown up, they said, out of the wants of the colony, 
and was the product of the wisdom of the colony from 1662 
to the period we are considering. It had conferred on the 
commonwealth, intelligence, virtue, and happiness. 

The progressive party were clamorous for a change. It 
may be that they over-estimated the value of written consti- 
tutions as safeguards of liberty. They had not yet learned 
that " the legislative lion will not be entangled in the meshes 
of a logical net. The legislature will always make the power 
which it wishes to exercise, unless it be so organized as to 
contain within itself the sufficient check." — (See Life of Gov- 
erneur Morris, vol. iii, p. 323.) It may be that they were not 
aware that the people themselves, for whose benefit constitu- 
tions are framed, would, in the heats of party spirit, recklessly 
sever the bonds of the constitution, as " flax that falls asun- 
der at the touch of fire." 

France, at a certain date in this period, had had six consti- 
tutions, Pennsylvania two, Georgia two, and Vermont two. 

It is interesting to the historian to look back upon that 
series of causes and effects which has brought about some 
particular condition of public affairs. The weakness of the 
colony, and the fear of the Indians first, then the fear of the 
Dutch of New Amsterdam, backed by their " high mighti- 
nesses " of Old Amsterdam, and afterwards of the French of 
Canada, backed by the military and naval power of Louis 
XV, — these were the causes that inclined the colony to con- 
tinue under the protection of the crown of England. 

But when their fears were removed by the treaty of Paris, 
in 1763, the colony was prepared to set up for independence 
in order that she might carry out those notions of local law 



102 

and self-government to which she had always been inclined. 
She had rejoiced in the generous charter of Charles II, so 
long as that charter was their protection against the encroach- 
ments of Parliament. 

But after they had won their independence, the charter lost 
much of its value in their eyes, and in 1818, it gave place to 
the present constitution. 

Thus the Revolution of 1776 prepared the way for the 
Revolution of 18 18. 

Some of the ministers lived to see both Revolutions, aiding 
the one and opposing the other. When the General Associ- 
ation in June, 1875, appointed a committee on the subject we 
are now considering, they did but express the feelings of the 
people of Connecticut generally, that in the reminiscences of 
1776, and of the Revolution, the ministers of Connecticut 
should not be forgotten. But they are now all sleeping in 
the midst of their several flocks, who knew their voice and 
their crook, as they led them through green pastures and 
beside still waters. Their names we would not willingly 
let die. 

Dr. Franklin expressed the wish to visit the earth after a 
cycle of a hundred or two hundred years, to see the results of 
the political experiment which he and others were making. 
" We know not what a range the spirit takes." We can believe 
that if the spirits of the just made perfect take an interest in 
human affairs, that the ministers of Connecticut in the Revo- 
lution look upon us the ministers now, with such a love as 
that which parents bear to children, just as we look back to 
them with the love which children bear to parents. We can 
believe that on this great historic year a goodly company of 
these, from the fields of ether, visit the place where they 
were born, where they were settled in the ministry for life, 
where they studied, and prayed, and labored, and made sacri- 
fices that their beloved Connecticut might become a " free 
and independent State." 



APPENDIX. 



A. 

From the proverb, " Like people, like priest," it is inferred 
that the character of the priest can be known from the char- 
acter of the people, and vice versa. 

This was especially true in regard to the ministers and the 
people in Connecticut, where the connection between them, 
like the connection between man and wife, was life-long. 

For centuries in England, down to the Reformation, the 
affection and reverence of Christian people were distributed 
upon popes, cardinals, bishops, and the inferior clergy. After 
the Reformation, the affection and reverence of Christian 
people were bestowed on archbishops, bishops, rectors, and 
curates. 

In Connecticut, the affection and reverence of Christians 
in the several towns, were concentrated upon their own min- 
ister, whom they regarded as worthy of double honor. Hence 
they were willing to follow him as their chosen leader. 

" A condition of society so happy as that enjoyed by Con- 
necticut at this period, especially during the long administra- 
tion of Governor Saltonstall, has been rare in the experience 
of mankind." — (Palfrey's Works, vol. iv, p. 375.) 

' In these halcyon days, thus described by Palfrey, namely, 
in 1708, when a clergyman was the Governor of the Stated 
the ecclesiastical constitution of Connecticut was formed, in 
which the Consociation of churches and the Association of 
ministers were established, greatly to the advantage of 
churches and ministers. (See Trumbull's Ecc. Hist, of Conn., 
vol. i, chapter xix ; sermon by John Eliot, D. D. ; Con. to the 
Ecc. Hist, of Conn., and Fowler's Essays, p. 38.) 



104 



B. 

The first ministers of Connecticut, on their settlement, 
generally received from the towns allotments of land, to be 
their own in fee simple, and likewise the use of other allot- 
ments of land, denominated parsonage lands. The conse- 
quence was that they nearly all became agriculturalists, and 
depended in part for their support on the cultivation of the 
soil, just as in England ministers of the Episcopal church 
cultivated the glebe lands. In 1852, when I was in England, 
Judge Burdon, chief justice in Yorkshire, took me to ride 
seven miles, in order to show me, as he said, the best speci- 
men of tile draining which he had seen. This was made by 
a clergyman of the Church of England. He also told me 
that clergymen were some of the best cultivators of the soil 
that he knew. 

The clergymen of Connecticut were more intelligent than 
the mass of the people, and therefore cultivated the soil in a 
better way than others, and thus became model farmers. 
This is true of Dr. Jared Eliot of Killingworth, Dr. Goodrich 
of Durham, and William Robinson of Southington, and many 
others. And in their houses the same industry and thrift 
was manifested by their wives and daughters. During, and 
just after the Revolutionary War, one clergyman educated 
five sons at Yale College, and, excepting the suit worn at 
Commencement, which was made of broadcloth, all their 
clothes were manufactured in his family, both woolen and 
linen, and the flax and wool from which the materials were 
made were furnished from his own farm, or at least from the 
contributions of his people, in payment of his salary. Thus, 
in many families during the war, the women followed the sug- 
gestion of Dr. Franklin : " We must light the fires of indus- 
try," while the husbands, brothers, and sons followed the 
suggestion of John Adams : ** We must light fires of a differ- 
ent character." 

The ministers, in their intercourse with others, borrowed 
their allusions from their agricultural occupations. 

^neas Munson, the well-known president of the medical 



105 

department in Yale College, born in New Haven, June 24, 
1734; died there, June 16, 1826; studied theology, and 
preached for some years. Indeed, he was chaplain to Lord 
Gardner in the French War of 1755. One Saturday evening 
he was in company with a minister of Connecticut, with 
whom he expected to spend the Sabbath, and who said to 
him : " You must preach for me to-morrow." Mr. Munson 
replied, " No, sir ; I should be afraid to preach before your 
congregation, because you have so many intelligent men in 
it." The next morning the minister took him into his barn- 
yard, and said to him, " Do you see that great ox ? He won't 
poke. Do you see that great ox ? " pointing to another, " He 
won't poke." He then said, " Do you see that little steer ? 
He can't poke." The minister added, " You will preach for 
me to-day." Upon this, Mr. Munson said he readily assented 
to preach for him. 

In Connecticut, before machinery had created a moneyed 
aristocracy in the State, there was a great system of domestic 
manufactures carried on in the well-to-do families of Connec- 
ticut, including those of the ministers, in which the capital- 
ists and the operatives lived under the same roof. It was 
the age of homespun and industry. 

" The modest wants of every day 
The toil of every day supplied." 

" The good housewife sought wool and flax and worked 
willingly with her hands. She laid her hands to the spindle, 
and her hands held the distaff." 

The great wheel and the little wheel made music, some- 
times in concert and sometimes in solo ; and the young girl, 
as she turned the wheel, would sometimes sing : 

" I'll sell my rock ; I'll sell my reel, 
Likewise I'll sell my spinning-wheel, 
To buy my love a sword and a shield, 
So give ear to my wdlndering roundelay." 

Even men high in office, often spent a portion of their time 
in the cultivation of the soil. 

14 



io6 

Thus there was a meadow on the estate of the celebrated 
WylHs family in Hartford, owned by them for several gener- 
ations, the hay of which was said to be made every year by 
gentlemen " in silk stockings." 

In diet, it was the age of potluck, when men went to their 
beef -barrel and pork-barrel, and not to the butcher's cart for 
their meat. Every day at 12 o'clock the good wife, with her 
long iron fork, would place the smoking viands on the broad 
pewter platter, where the family could find plenty of " cut 
and come again." 

The Indian pudding, boiled in a bag, prefaced the dinner. 
Hence the adage, "The proof of the pudding is in eating the 
bag," that is, all that was contained in the bag. In beverage, 
it was the age of home-brewed beer made from malt, manu- 
factured from barley. The emptyings furnished the good 
housewife with yeast, which, when good, insured good bread, 
in accordance with the old maxim in the school-book, "As 
you brew, so you must bake." 

When the celebrated Dr. John Mason of New York, at 
that time the most eloquent man of the clergy of the United 
States, preached on a certain occasion at New Haven, Dr. 
Azel Backus sat in the pulpit with him. During the delivery 
of the greater part of the sermon Dr. Backus was in tears, 
and when the services were concluded, Dr. Backus took him 
by the hand and said, " Dr. Mason, do you always preach in 
this way ^ " " Oh, no ! " was the reply, " I can write a good 
sermon, but I generally feed my people on potluck." 



C. 

The ministers were the learned order of Connecticut. 
But instead of confining learning to their own order, they 
endeavored to extend it, as far as possible, to every class in 
the community. Instead of adopting the sentiment, "Ignor- 
ance is the mother of devotion," they adopted the opposite 
sentiment, " Knowledge is the mother of devotion." A 
strong mind, well cultivated, must perceive truth and feel 
its power, better than a weak and ignorant mind. The 



I07 

ministers were educators in Connecticut, first, by their in- 
fluence in establishing and promoting common schools. It 
should be* said, to the praise of the ministers, that in their 
earnest and painstaking labors in connection with district 
schools, they received no pecuniary remuneration. This 
acting from public spirit was in accordance with the general 
practice of town officers. The selectmen of the town, for 
a long period, in like manner received no remuneration for 
their services, and if for want of public spirit a man should 
refuse to accept of the office when appointed, he was some- 
times fined. Secondly, by the establishment of Yale College ; 
thirdly, by the establishment of academies and schools of a 
higher order ; fourthly, by the instructions which they gave 
in fitting youth for college, and for some of the more elevated 
professions. Thus, Nathaniel Chauncey, the first graduate 
of Yale College, Dr. Elizur Goodrich his successor, and 
Dr. David Smith, taught schools of this character. William 
Botsford, the Chief Justice of New Brunswick, and Eli 
Whitney, the great inventor, were fitted for college by 
Dr. Goodrich ; Postmaster-General Samuel D. Hubbard, by 
Dr. Smith. Rev. Enoch Huntington, of Middletown, also 
taught a large school. Among his pupils were the Rev. 
Timothy Dwight, afterwards President of Yale College, and 
John C. Osborn, Professor in the Medical College in New 
York. President Dwight taught a celebrated school at 
Greenfield Hill. Dr. Azel Backus, in 1808-9, ^^.d a school 
of twenty, all of them boarding in his family, and in 1811-12 
had fifteen scholars. 

The influence of the intellectual training which ministers 
furnished their hearers on the Sabbath, to say nothing of 
the moral and religious training, was often very important 
in shaping the intellectual character of young men. 

Dr. Emmons, a native of Connecticut, educated at Yale 
College, 1767, died in Franklin, Mass., 1840, trained up 
intellectually Judge Theron Metcalf, Prof. Alexander Fisher, 
and Horace Mann, though none of them embraced his pecu- 
liar views of religion. 

Oliver Ellsworth studied theology one year with Dr. John 



io8 

Smalley. There was a tradition when I was studying the- 
ology, that when called to write his first sermon he wrote 
ten sheets of paper in defining the terms which he used in 
the sermon, which he did with great accuracy. Dr. Smalley 
was struck with the exactness of his mind, and told him 
that he would make a better lawyer than minister. Upon 
this, Mr. Ellsworth betook himself to the study of the law, 
and became in time Chief Justice of the United States. 

The celebrated Jeremiah Mason, the great lawyer, first 
of New Hampshire, and then of Massachusetts, studied 
divinity for a time with Dr. Smalley. 

The clergymen of Connecticut introduced among their 
people something of the Aryan civilization and something 
of the Semitic. Many of them could quote passages from 
the classics as fluently as they could quote texts from the 
Scriptures. For a long time the students of Yale College 
were required to converse in Latin. 

As helping to show the influence of the ministers of 
Connecticut in promoting general education, the following 
letter, published in the annual report of 1868, by the Connec- 
ticut Board of Education, is not out of place. 

Durham Center, Conn., April, 1868. 

To the Secretary of the Board of Education : 

Dear Sir — In reply to your favor, in which you request 
me to furnish some information "concerning the town and 
village libraries, which, in various parts of the State, were 
the educators of our fathers," I have to say, that the short- 
ness of the time, and my previous engagements, have not 
allowed me to bestow that attention to the subject which its 
intrinsic interest demands. These libraries are now num- 
bered with the things that were ; but for fifty or a hundred 
years they were a living power in the Commonwealth, as we 
may still learn in the fast fading light of tradition. 

Books were for a long time scarce in Connecticut, as else- 
where in New England, except in the libraries of some of 
the eminent clergymen ; and so much valued were they, that 
when a certain distinguished clergyman in Massachusetts 



109 

died, who was in possession of a valuable library, a clergy- 
man in Stratford, Connecticut, offered to bring up and 
educate his orphan son, then only five years of age, on 
condition that he might have the use of that library until 
that son should want it. And so good a use did he make 
of that library, that he was offered the Presidency of Yale 
College, which he declined. 

Books were the foundation of Yale College. The founda- 
tion was laid on this wise : Ten of the principal clergymen 
of the Colony, having formed themselves into a society, met 
at Branford. " Each member brought a number of books, 
and presenting them to the body, said these words : ^ I give 
these books for the foiinding of a college in this Colony! " 
Then the trustees took possession of them and confided 
them to the care of the Reverend Mr. Russell, the Librarian. 
The number of the books was forty folio volumes. 

The opinion of these founders was, that a college is .a 
mental and spiritual structure, built on the foundation of the 
prophets and apostles of learning, Jesus Christ being the 
chief corner stone. These books were, at once, the symbols 
and the sources of learning, the exponents of those donors 
who founded Yale College, and the fountains from which the 
students could thereafter slake their thirst for knowledge. 

As showing the high appreciationr of books, in 1717, when 
the college library was removed from Saybrook to New 
Haven, a large number of men resisted the removal, and " in 
the struggle that ensued, about two htmdred and fifty volumes 
of valuable books were conveyed away by unknown persons, 
and were never recovered." Whether any of those books 
formed the basis of the valuable libraries not long after 
established by individuals in the three towns of Saybrook, 
Lyme, and Guilford, I am not able positively to say. Some 
circumstances point that way. 

The year 1733 was signalized by the noble donation of one 
thousand volumes to Yale College, by a distinguished divine 
of the Church of England, Dean Berkley, afterwards Bishop 
of Cloyne. This caused great rejoicing among the friends 
of the College in the Colony, and inspired high hopes of its 
success. 



no 

It is remarkable that in a few months after this event, in 
the same year, namely, October 30th, the first " Book Com- 
pany " in Connecticut, or what is supposed to be the first, 
was formed. From that time to about 1800, and perhaps 
later, libraries were established in the different towns. The 
ministers and intelligent men reasoned in this way : If large 
libraries are useful in large cities in Europe and else- 
where, small libraries may be useful in the small towns in 
Connecticut, where all enjoy the advantages of common 
school education, which prepares them to derive pleasure 
and profit from books. And many of the people reasoned 
in this way : I have learned to read, why shall not I make a 
profitable use of what I have learned, and extend my knowl- 
edge by reading books .'* They thought much like Stone, 
the celebrated self-made mathematician, who, when asked 
how he had been able to acquire such a great amount of 
knowledge, replied, " Why, I first learned the twenty-fotir 
letters of the alphabet, and then I found that, by means of 
these, I could learn anything else that I wished to learn." 

Moreover, members of the Colonial Legislature, which 
met twice in the year, often had conversations with each 
other about the establishment of libraries as the means of 
elevating the tastes and intelligence of the people in the 
several towns. And after they had been established in some 
towns, the members from those towns were consulted by 
those from other towns, as to the results, and as to the mode 
of proceeding in forming and conducting them, and as to 
the choice and character of the books to be purchased. And 
afterwards, when "book companies" had become common in 
the Colony, the members frequently, in their social inter- 
course, conversed with one another about the books which 
belonged to the libraries in their respective towns. This 
statement I had from those who received it from one who 
was as influential as any other in the establishment of such 
libraries, and who was a member of the legislature, at least 
seventy-four sessions. 

These book companies were voluntary associations of per- 
sons in the several towns who were desirous of establishing 



Ill 

a library. A number of the intelligent men of the town 
would meet together, appoint a committee of four or five 
persons, and a clerk, who was often the library-keeper. 
These officers were afterwards appointed annually. Each 
member contributed a certain sum, say twenty shillings, as 
an entrance fee, and an annual tax, say one shilling. The 
books were drawn out by the members, or by some of their 
families, to be returned in a fortnight, or at some longer 
time, perhaps, in some places. A record of the books drawn 
was kept by the clerk, a fine being charged for want of 
punctuality in returning them. Sometimes, through neglect, 
the taxes and fines would amount to so much that the com- 
mittee would declare the rights forfeited. The moneys 
collected were applied by the committee to the purchase of 
books from time to time. The question what books should 
be purchased, was considered to be a very important one, 
and was often discussed by the committee. In one case the 
clerk and library-keeper held his place forty-nine years. 

It was, I believe, not uncommon that the clergyman was 
the clerk. At least I was acquainted with one who acted as 
such something like thirty years, meeting the members of 
the book company statedly for drawing the books ; when he 
would describe to them their character, with remarks adapted 
to lead them to their perusal, he himself having carefully 
read them. He wished to imbue the minds of the readers 
in his parish with scholarly tastes, to make them understand 
that though the bodies of the great ones in mind's empire lie 
in the " caves of death," their minds still live and breathe in 
their works as if immortal ; lifting, as with an angel's wing, 
the souls of their readers above earth's vanities. He wished 
to take off their attention from the petty questions and the 
party disputes of the day, which divide or weaken congrega- 
tions, and to fix it upon the great truths and great duties in 
which all could agree to unite. And he was successful. He 
left what continues to be, at the distance of forty-four years, 
one of the largest and best congregations in the country towns 
in the State. We know men from the friends whom they 
choose ; he knew many of his people from the books which 



112 

they read, those silent friends who teach without offending, 
and admonish without wounding, and who form the charac- 
ter. 

The annual meetings for the choice of officers, and for 
hearing the report on the condition of the library, was a sort 
of literary festival, when there was " the feast of reason and 
the flow of soul," when the members eulogized their favorite 
authors, quoting them as if they were old friends, and ready 
to say with Bacon, " libraries are the shrines where all the 
relics of saints, full of true virtue, and without imposture, are 
preserved and reposed." 

The following preamble to the by-laws adopted in one 
town, is given as a specimen, which may help one to form a 
correct idea of a "Book Company" in those times. 

" Forasmuch as the subscribers hereof, being desirous to 
improve our leisure hours in enriching our minds in useful 
and profitable knowledge by reading, do find ourselves unable 
to do so, for the want of suitable and proper books: There- 
fore, that we may be the better able to furnish ourselves with 
a suitable and proper collection of books, for the above said 
end, we do, each of us, unite together, and agree to be 
coparceners in company together by the name of the Book 
Company of Durham, united to buy books ; and we do agree 
and covenant with each other, and it is hereby covenanted 
and agreed upon, by each of us, the subscribers hereof, that 
we ourselves and successors will be in future a society or 
company of coparceners united for that end, viz : to buy 
books ; and we will each of us, so often as we shall agree by 
our major vote, bear our equal part in advancing any sum or 
sums of money at any time as a common stock to be laid out 
for such books as shall be agreed upon by the major vote of 
the company, to enlarge our library; and in pursuance of 
said design, we have each of us put into one stock the sum 
of twenty shillings, which is already laid out according to 
our direction, in purchasing books, which books shall be kept 
as a common stock library for the use of said company, by 
some honest person, whom we will choose, each member 
having an equal right in said library, and the use of the 
same, under such regulations as we shall agree upon." 



"3 

In addition to this, there were sixty by-laws carefully and 
judiciously drawn up. 

In my early years I was conversant with several of those 
libraries, frequented as they were by members of the com- 
pany, who drew books and read them and talked about them. 
The binding was generally in strong sheep or calf, sometimes 
in double bindings after the first was injured by use. That 
they were used the volumes themselves bore witness as well 
as the records. 

It should be remembered, that during the era which we are 
considering, the people of the Commonwealth were agricul- 
tural, living on farms cultivated by themselves as owners, 
and in homes often separated by broad acres ; that in those 
homes the several families spent the long winters mostly 
together, and the rainy days and their evenings, and thus 
had leisure for reading. It should also be remembered, that 
with them often dwelt the four cardinal virtues, prudence, 
temperance, justice, and fortitude, and also the sweet house- 
hold charities ; and what is more, daily prayers were offered 
in those homes even by many who had never taken the 
sacramental oath in the sanctuary, and thus they were in a 
mood of mind to enjoy solid reading. Their public amuse- 
ments were few ; there were training days with the wrestling 
matches ; there were election days with their raised cake ; 
there were thanksgiving days with their table luxuries and 
family loves ; there were occasional balls conducted with all 
the formality and decorum of the olden time. Still, as a 
whole, there was very little outside to draw them from their 
homes. 

In such homes and from such hearts books met a ready 
welcome as supplying a felt want, whether adapted to the 
memory, the imagination, or the reason. " The U^iiversal 
History'' Josephus' ''History of the yews!' Watts' works, 
some of the poetical works of Milton, Pope, Thompson, 
Goldsmith, the sermons of some of the ablest English 
Divines, some of the works of President Edwards, The 
" Spectator!' some of Locke's works, Montesquieu's " Spirit 
of Laivs," " The Vicar of Wakefield!' and many others, 

15 



114 

became familiarly known to more or less readers in many 
towns. And when thus read and appreciated, they of course 
produced a beneficial effect. This was especially true of the 
'' Spectator I' composed by Addison and the wits of Queen 
Anne's time. If it be true that it contributed to elevate 
and refine the conversation and conduct of the people of 
England in their social intercourse, it did the same for the 
people of Connecticut, inasmuch as, in proportion to the 
population, it was more read. 

In the excellent Constitution of Massachusetts, under the 
head of encouraging literature, it is made the duty of legis- 
lators and magistrates to countenance ''sincerity, good humory 
and all social affections, a7id generous se^itiments, among the 
peopled What was aimed at by this provision, was, to a 
large extent, accomplished by the extensive perusal of books 
like these ; while they planted a root of bitterness nowhere, 
whether in churches or towns. It is true there were many 
books in these libraries of not so high a character. I have 
seen ''Arabian Nights Entertaimnentl^ and the "Fool of 
Quality',' and the " Pilgrim s Progress,' and the "Holy War,* 
in one library, and it is very likely that '* Sir Charles Grandi- 
son,' and "Pamela,'' and "Robinson Crusoe',' were found in 
others. At any rate, there was enough in them to extend 
the opening mind of the young boy beyond the horizon of 
his native town to other forms of social life, thus nourishing 
manly thought ; and to expand the budding affections of the 
young girl into the consummate blossom of maiden loveliness. 

A studious youth in a secluded house, would, on some 
winter's evening, sit down, with his tallow candle, to peruse 
a book of travels from one of these libraries, perhaps reading 
portions of it to the listening family. In imagination he 
would range through various climes, and among various 
nations, until, in his delight, he could enjoy them as if his 
own. In the language of Goldsmith, he could say : 

"Ye glitt'ring towers with wealth and splendor crowned, 
Ye fields, whose summer spreads profusion round, 
Ye lakes, whose vessels catch the busy gale, 
Ye bending swains that dress the flow'ry vale, 
For me your tributary stores combine ; 
Creation's heir, the world, the world is mine." 



i»5 

He could enjoy all the delights of the traveler without his 
fatigues, exposures, and temptations. 

History was favorite reading with those who were older, 
especially English history. The people were but a few 
generations removed from their English ancestors, in whom 
tradition, government, and trade kept them interested. They 
themselves were British subjects until 1776. To understand 
their rights as such, they must read English history which 
informed them how these rights were obtained. The rulers 
of the people, and those who expected to be rulers, were 
readers of history. Some of the published debates in the 
Connecticut Legislature show a familiarity with historical 
facts. It is remarkable that in the Connecticut Convention 
which adopted the present Federal Constitution, the great 
argument of Oliver Ellsworth in its favor was largely histori- 
cal, implying that the members were so much acquainted 
with history, that they could appreciate its force. Ministers 
of the Gospel in those days not unfrequently, in their 
sermons, stated facts of history, as the teaching of Divine 
Providence. The famous sermon of President Stiles before 
the Connecticut Legislature in 1783, is largely historical. 
Many other facts might be adduced to show what were the 
prevailing tastes and sentiments in the Commonwealth, grow- 
ing out more or less from the perusal of books furnished by 
these book companies. 

The good influence of these libraries upon every class of 
the population, from the highest to the lowest, cannot be 
measured, any more than can the influence of " the all-per- 
vading spirit of literature " generally, any more than can the 
influence of the light in the firmament, glancing as it does 
from the highest hill-top down into the lowest vale. 

These "book companies" lived, some of them, more than 
a hundred years, accomplishing great good to the several 
communities, others had a shorter term of life. They all, 
from various general causes in operation, lost their hold on 
the hearts of the people, and were neglected. Some of the 
libraries were sold at auction, and the proceeds distributed 
among the membjrs. Some were distributed to them, each 



ii6 

member receiving his share of books. Some were scattered 
and lost. And the remains of one, at least, are boxed up in 
a large chest. 

The causes that produced this change began to operate 
about the commencement of the present century, though 
they did not produce their full effect until something like 
thirty years afterwards. To state what these causes were, 
would exceed my limits. 

If this letter, my dear sir, shall furnish you with any aid 
in your laudable attempt to obtain materials for an Educa- 
tional History of the State, I shall have accomplished my 
purpose in complying with your request. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM C. FOWLER. 



D. 
"owning the covenant." 

The covenant here mentioned refers to the covenant made 
by the parent for the infant child at its baptism. It refers 
to the beautiful idea connected with family religion, that the 
parent could enter into covenant, not only for himself, but 
for his child. In this way the baptized child became a 
member, or a quasi member of the church ; and, upon his 
"owning the covenant," enjoyed the privilege of having his 
own children baptized. At least, this was the general prac- 
tice in Connecticut for a long period. 

This was slightly stigmatized by the opposers of the prac- 
tice, by calling it the " half-way covenant." 

When the New Divinity men, under the lead of President 
Edwards, dropped the practice and confined baptism to the 
children of those who were in full communion, there was 
often great dissatisfaction expressed by those who were thus 
excluded. Within my knowledge some went so far as to 
leave the Congregational church and go to the Episcopal. 

For a specimen of the form of owning the covenant, see 
Con. to the Ecc. Hist, of Conn., page 410. 



117 

During the War of the Revolution there seems to have 
been a truce between the New Divinity men and the Old 
Divinity men. 

They were equally patriotic in sustaining the war. Thus, 
in the county of New Haven, Pres. Ezra Stiles, Dr. Elizur 
Goodrich, and Dr. Dana, Old Divinity men ; and Dr. Jona- 
than Edwards, Dr. Benj. Trumbull, and Mark Leavenworth, 
New Divinity men, earnestly supported the war. 

The Old Divinity men held generally to the doctrines 
taught by the Church of England in the thirty-nine articles, 
and also to the doctrines of the Westminster Catechism. 

To know what were the doctrines of the New Divinity 
men, it would be necessary to read some of the writings of 
Edwards the elder, Edwards the younger, Samuel Hopkins, 
Joseph Bellamy, Dr. Smalley, Levi Hart, Nathaniel Emmons, 
Charles Backus, who had as many as fifty theological pupils, 
and Stephen W^est. 

L One point of difference between the Old Divinity men 
and the New Divinity men was, that the Old Divinity men 
were willing to baptize the children of those who owned 
the covenant, while the New Divinity men were generally 
opposed to the practice. 

n. Another point of difference was, that the Old Divinity 
men relied largely upon the cultivation of family religion, 
while the New Divinity men were more in favor of confer- 
ence meetings than their opponents. 

HL Another point of difference was, that the Old Divini- 
ty men preached less upon the doctrine of election and 
kindred doctrines, than their opponents, though they were 
generally the professed believers in that doctrine. 

Said the Rev. Mr. Thomas Bray, an Old Divinity man of 
North Guilford : " I am a believer in election, but not in the 
Durham election." He alluded to the doctrine taught in the 
latter place at that time. 

In the year 1823, the orthodox friends of Amherst Col- 
lege united with the Democratic party in Massachusetts in 
electing for Governor, William Eustis, a Democrat, and a 
reputed Deist. This they did for the purpose of obtaining 



Ii8 

a charter for Amherst College, which the Federalists and 
Unitarians, whose candidate was Harrison Gray Otis, had 
refused to grant. Soon after the election, the defeated can- 
didate, Harrison Gray Otis, met the successful candidate, 
William Eustis, and accosted him jocosely in some such 
terms as these : " I beg to inquire whether you have adopted 
the Calvinistic system of doctrines ?" He replied, " I believe 
in the doctrine of election." 

The term, election, was in those days put by synedoche 
for the group of doctrines with which it was connected. 

IV. Another point of difference between the Old Divinity 
men and the New Divinity men was the hostility of the lat- 
ter to balls, assemblies, and dancing generally. 

During the period of thirty years, from 1788 to 1818, the 
New Divinity ministers grew in numbers and influence, in- 
curring justly or unjustly the charge of a propagandism that 
hazarded the unanimity and peace of churches and towns. 
During the same period, the Standing Order, denominated 
Presbyterians or Congregationalists, were weakened by the 
desertion of numbers to the Baptists, to the Episcopalians, 
to the Methodists, or to the Universalists ; thus foreshadow- 
ing the revolution of 18 18, which was partly ecclesiastical 
and partly political. 

Two excellent men, both of them Doctors of Divinity 
held a discussion in my presence something like the follow- 
ing : " The great success which has attended the preaching 
of the doctrines of New Divinity in revivals of religion is a 
sufficient proof of the truth of these doctrines." 

"No," said the other. "I do not think it is. It is rather 
the thoroughgoing character of the men who preach them 
that produce the success. It is neither New Divinity Cal- 
vinism nor Old Divinity Calvinism that is essential to the 
production of revivals of religion, for the Methodists have 
powerful revivals of religion under the preaching of opposite 
doctrines, namely, the doctrines of Arminianism." 



119 



E. 

Fairfield, June 23rcl, 1777. 
Rev. and Hon'd Sir .-****. 

The General Association have met here. They had no 
great business. It was an agreeable and social interview ; 

and they kept out of political matters tho' the fingers 

of one Gentleman seemed greatly bent after fishing in the 
troubled waters. * * * * . 

Great are the expectations of people from this summer's 
campaign. 

"Never had Gen. Washington so fine an army. Howe's 
numbers are much smaller than they were last year." They 
predict mighty events. It will be a sad disappointment if 
America does not prevail. 

Last week I saw a Flag which came out of New York. 
It was Mr. Webb of Wethersfield, who had been sent by 
Gov. Trumbull. He says that vast preparations were mak- 
ing for action somewhere. The Britons and their adherents 
glory much on account of the late action of Danbury and 
think that they can go any where — they were attacked, say 
they, by ten thousand Rebels, and made their way through 
them all. They want another tour to Connecticut. Major 
French, who has been a Prisoner, and made his escape from 
Hartford, has solicited for a command to go to that Metropo- 
lis, attesting in the strongest terms the practicability of such 
an Expedition. But he has no great Influence at Head 
Quarters. 

The Boston refugees are fed with the notion that they 
shall ere long be in their Habitations. Many of them have 
heretofore believed that the great preparations were making 
for an attack on that town. Ben Davis, on his entering into 
New York was closeted by Lord Howe for six hours. He 
talks of his sufferings while in Boston — his fortitude in stand- 
ing firm to the rules, and hh mighty attachment to Govern- 
ment. ***** ^ 

The British Ships are almost every day in sight. They 
seem determined to prevent any more excursions to Long 



120 

Island and not only so but to harass our Coast as much as 
possible. They have once and again taken off Cattle, &c., 

and burnt houses contiguous to the water. Gen. Silliman 

is indefatigable in posting guards along the shore, that is, 
within his department, but of what avail are indefatigable 
officers with fatigable men. The Militia seem tired of the 
Business. It is with difficulty that they are got together at 
any time. Two Battalions are now raising for the defense of 
the shore. What success they meet with in recruiting I know 
not. This ought to have been done six months ago. 
Your dutiful son, 

ANDREW ELIOT. 

Fairfield, May 21st, 1778. 
Rev. and Hon'd Sir* * * * . 

I have much regretted that I could proceed no further than 
Hartford. Had it not been for the Association Meeting 
which is to be held the next week at Stanwick (where a gen- 
eral attendance is expected), and I appointed preacher, I 
should have gone on to Boston, 

On Monday preceding our general Election we set out for 
Wethersfield, where we arrived Tuesday p. m. That evening 
and the following day we spent very agreeably at Mr. Marsh's, 
in company with a number of the clergy and other gentle- 
men. 

The next day I went over to Hartford. Mr. Whittlesey of 
New Haven preached a very suitable sermon from 2 Sam., 
xxiii : 3 — " He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in 
the fear of God." There was a great concourse of people 
within and without the meeting-house. I was much pleased 
with the good order and decency that prevailed during the 
exercise, and afterwards. Dr. Rogers gave us a lecture in 
the afternoon. 

Many were displeased at having a lecture for various rea- 
sons. For my own part I was not satisfied of the propriety 
of the Scheme, and had determined not to go, but being in 
company with the Governor and his officers, and his Excel- 
lency rising, to attend the Sermon while the Committee was 



121 

counting the votes, it would not do for me to stay behind. 
The Dr. preached an excellent sermon from these words — 
" Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is the reproach of 
any people." 

Connecticut makes this anniversary much more of a Fes- 
tival than Massachusetts used to do. Not only the lower 
sort, but persons of the first rank throughout the State, 
whether in office or not, put on their best attire and indulge 
in diversions suited to their various tastes, throughout the 
day and the evening. This is no bad symptom for the 
present Constitution of Government. The regard paid to 
such an Anniversary shows the prevailing disposition, and in- 
dicates the value which the people have for the privileges they 
enjoy. 

When diversions are innocent in themselves, and are not 
carried to excess — when they are not attended with too great 
expense, and do not lead to Levity, dissipation, and vice, they 
are allowable and salutary. But when to the variety of 
amusements peculiar to the country — the moderate use of 
which is not prejudicial — are added Stage Plays, it appears 
to me an alarming circumstance. Could you think it ^ — 
On Monday Evening in Election Week — In Hartford, the 
Capital of the State — in the Court House — the place where 
the Fathers of the Senate meet — at the most public time, 
and in the most public manner, was acted Tancred & Sigis- 
immda, by the Junior Sophister Class of Yale College, who 
had been forbidden to act the same at Glastonbury (where 
they have lately studied) and who embraced the opportunity 
of vacation and secured the Court house for the purpose. 
To this succeeded a farce of their own composing in which 
Gen'ls Burgoyne & Prescot were introduced. To keep up 
the characters of these Generals, especially Prescot, they 
were obliged (I believe not to their sorrow), to indulge in very 
indecent and profane language. 

The audience consisted of the Gentry of Hartford and the 

vicinity, and a number of strangers, among whom were Dr. 

Rodgers and Mr. Tennent. Those Rev'd Gentlemen were 

very much offended at the profane language introduced. 

i6 



122 

Better for them and for the interests of religion that they had 
been elsewhere. 

When Royal Governors in grand parade and pomp came 
over time after time — when Commissioners and Custom 
house officers, a corrupt, luxurious and dissipated tribe 
abounded in every part of New England — the voice of many 
was, and fitly enough, that the representation of Stage Plays — 
the encouraging a theatre was destructive to a young Coun- 
try — they were too expensive diversions, and tended to hurt the 
morals of young and unprincipled persons — and no company 
dare exhibit for any time, for fear of the Grand Jury. Alas ! 
that in one of the "first pages of our New History," these 
things should be publicly tolerated. What adds to the ille- 
gality of the affair is that the actors were not only dressed 
agreeable to the characters they assumed as Men, but female 
apparel and ornaments were put on some, contrary to an 
express statute. Besides it cost the lads £^60 to prepare for 
the exhibition. 

Election being over, we returned to Wethersfield, where we 
spent the remainder of the week. I preached for Mr. Marsh 
on the Lord's day, and on Monday set out for home, where we 
arrived Tuesday p. m. ; Polly much the better for her jour- 

*■ ^£- ^ ^£» i^ 

7^ 71* -|S TJ* 

Our public affairs are in a much better situation than they 
were, on account of the Interposition of France — separate 
from that we have not much better prospects. A selfish, 
avaricious, anti-patriotic spirit, and a love of pleasure too 
much prevails in America, which swallows up what public 
virtue is left among the inhabitants. There is no people, 
however, that will allow themselves or their neighbors to be 
so bad as Massachusetts. 

Mankind are generally blind to their own faults, eagle- 
eyed with regard to the faults of others. I heartily wish that 
your State had acceded to the regulating act. 

I am fully of your mind that the grand hinge on which 
American affairs have turned in Europe was Burgoyne's de- 
feat — accomplished principally by New England Militia. 

While I was at Wethersfield, a rich prize, containing 85 



123 

pipes of wine came into Connecticut River — it was taken by 
two Boats manned by 14 or 15 men. They opened the head 
of one of the pipes on Election day at Middletown. Every 
body was welcome to a draught. 

In our absence there was a considerable alarm at Fairfield. 
A Ship, Brig, and tender came near the town. They cut out 
a fine new Brig from Newfield Harbour about 5 or 6 miles 
from us. Their boats came in a very silent manner — they 
made quick dispatch, which shows they were afraid to come 
very far or to stay very long. I hope there will be no more 
such alarms, but expect them daily. Our people have been 
to the opposite shore, ofttimes taken wood and provision 
boats — made prize of one of their tenders. I am apprehen- 
sive of their endeavoring to make reprisals upon us. A kind 
providence has preserved us hitherto. I humbly trust he 
will continue his protection. Oh ! for chippy, lasting peace. 

Jjt j|£ it jk »Jt 

Your dutiful son, 

Andrew Eliot. 

Fairfield, June nth, 1778. '] 
Rev. and Hon'd Sir : — Yours of the 4th inst. came duly 
to hand. I hear no further animadversions on the affair of 
Stage Plays, but hope that such proceedings will be nipped 
in the bud. The College is coming together at New Haven, 
where the Scholars will be more under the eye of their Gov- 
ernors. Dr. Stiles is to be here in July. Great are the ex- 
pectations concerning him. The College is to equal, if not 
outvie all other seminaries upon the continent. In my ap- 
prehension it will not greatly flourish until this comes again 
in vogue — Cedant arme toge^ — and until the direction of it 
should be wholly by clergymen. They want an equal number 
of the Laity to be concerned — accordingly a Scheme was 
proposed by the Assembly — that the Corporation continuing 
as heretofore, the same number of laymen should be chosen 
by and from that body, to have equal power with the corpor- 
ation — the President to be elected by this joint Body, but to 
be a clergyman — -the other Officers to be elected in the sam 



124 

manner from any Profession — except the Professor of Divin- 
ity, who is to be elected by the corporation and under their 
sole direction — with some other articles of less importance. 
The divinity chair is at present filled by Dr. Daggett, who, 
let his merits be ever so great, I find is not very acceptable 
to the community. This deposition from the President's 
Office must indeed be mortifying if he has any sensibility. 
Were I in his case, I should retire to any employment that 
would keep me from starving. Whether they will be able to 
keep the College together is a matter of uncertainty, depend- 
ing entirely on the enemy's motions. 

All things are now quiet among us, save that a sloop was 
cut out of Harbor about 17 miles from us on Wednesday, 
loaded with 3C0 barrels of flour — and a fleet has been passing 
eastward thro' the Sound for some days past. Whether to 
take off troops from Rhode Island or to carry more there, is 
uncertain. A division of the Squadron lay opposite to us the 
last night. Admiral Gambler has arrived at New York with 
some ships, but I believe few reinforcements are yet come. 
I cannot learn where it is likely the ensuing campaign will 
commence. Some say in New England, others that it will 
be up the North river — others in the Carolinas. Gen. Gates 
is marching down from Albany. It is said that he is going 
on the White Plains. The event of all is with an all-wise 

Providence. Pity for Britain that she ever began the War. 
* * * * * 

Your dutiful son, 

Andrew Eliot. 

Mr. Whittlesey's sermon is in the press, and there it is like 
to be for some time. Our Election Sermons do not come 
out till near six months after they are preached. I will send 
you a copy as soon as published. 



125 



The War of the Revolution loosened the joints of society. 
It closed in 1783. In 1784 the emancipation act of the Leg- 
islature was passed. For one cause and another, some of the 
soldiers of the Revolutionary army of Connecticut found 
their attachment to their native State weakened By the 
adoption of the first Federal Constitution, and also by the 
adoption of the second, the views of many of the people were 
extended beyond the boundaries of their native State or col- 
ony. They were ready to say, 

" No pent-up Utica contracts our powers, 
The whole unbounded continent is ours." 

They were now ready, as a part of the " universal Yankee 
nation," to find a home anywhere on the continent, and to 
carry with them the institutions under which they themselves 
had been educated. Judge Jacob CoUamer once informed 
me that a certain very considerable tract of country in Ver- 
mont was largely settled by New England soldiers of the 
Revolution. Among these, many were from Connecticut ; 
and in the region where these soldiers were settled, the 
•• point of honor " was often evident and influential. Mari- 
etta was settled to some extent by Connecticut officers and 
soldiers. As many as one-fifth of the towns of Vermont 
borrowed their names from Connecticut. 

The lands called the " Connecticut Reserve," in the north- 
ern part of Ohio, amounting in the whole to 3,666,000 acres, 
came into market in 1795. Five hundred thousand acres of 
these lands were called fire-lands, from their being given to 
Norwalk, Danbury, and other towns, to compensate them for 
their losses by fire in the Revolutionary War. The school 
lands amounted to 3,166,000 acres. 

The tide of emigration moved westward from every part of 
the State. Every town lost some of its best blood, which was 
transfused into communities in the West, and imparted vital- 
ity, health, and vigor, while it left the towns languid and 
weakened. In 1816 an oration was delivered at Commence- 



126 

ment by one of the graduating class of Yale College, " On 
the spirit of Emigration from the Eastern to the Western 
States." In 1817 Governor Oliver Wolcott, in his inaugural 
message, spoke of the importance of encouraging manufac- 
turing industry, in order that the people of Connecticut 
should be induced to remain within the limits of the State. 

The loud cry was, " Westward ho ! who'll follow ? " and 
multitudes responded to that cry, " We'll follow." 



G. 

Fifty years ago, or more, when the London University was 
under consideration, in one of the principal English reviews 
it was declared, " Oxford makes gentlemen." There was 
then, and there has been since, every reason to believe the 
truth of this declaration. At least, the present writer, after 
spending ten days there, with the best opportunities for ob- 
servation, became thoroughly convinced of its truth. The 
history of that University from its foundation, and of the 
University of Cambridge, go to show that their alumni carried 
into every part of England the manners which they ac- 
quired at those places, and thus promoted good ijianners in 
England. 

Harvard College, and Yale College, have, in like manner, 
promoted good manners where their alumni have been settled, 
in Massachusetts or Connecticut. 

The early ministers of Connecticut, whether educated in 
England, or at Harvard, or Yale, zealously promoted good 
manners among the people. The youth were taught good 
manners in the church, through the aid of the tithingman ; 
good manners in the school, through the aid of the teacher ; 
and good manners in the family and in public, through the 
aid of their parents. The children were taught to " make 
their manners " when they came into the school-room and 
when they left it, by taking off their hats or making a cour- 
tesy ; and to do the same to respectable passers by, whom 
they met in the streets, just as students in college were re- 



12/ 

quired by law to take off their hats to the Faculty, when they 
met them. 

In going into church the minister was received by the 
congregation standing, at least by those in the lower part of 
the house, and more especially by those near the broad aisle. 

The minister and people both had their Sabbath-day 
clothes, which they used in going to church, and other im- 
portant occasions, and every-day clothes, which they used in 
their daily business. 

The minister was dressed sometimes with a cocked hat and 
wig or cue, black coat, waistcoat, breeches, stockings,, knee- 
buckles, and shoe-buckles, and black gloves. 

Yale College was to Connecticut what Oxford and Cam- 
bridge were to England for a long time, as a promoter of 
good manners. To see this distinctly let us select some pe- 
riod, say from 1812 to 18 16. 

At that time, Timothy Dwight was President of Yale Col- 
lege. His manners, derived, in part, from the ante-Revolu- 
tionary period, or from the army, in which he was a Chaplain, 
but chiefly from his own nobility of soul, produced reverence 
and admiration in strangers and friends. They were such as 
would become a dignitary of the Church of England, even 
the Archbishop at Lambeth. 

It was said of Edmund Burke, by one well acquainted with 
life and manners, that no one could pass ten minutes with 
him under a shed in a rainy day, without feeling that he was 
a man of uncommon ability. The same might be said of 
President Dwight. 

The manners of Professor Jeremiah Day, afterwards Presi- 
dent, were bland and courteous, indicating the poise and gen- 
tle graces of his soul. It was said of the father of Prof. 
Day, by one who revered him greatly, that *' he never could 
look at him, without the momentary impression that he was 
God." No one could be well acquainted with the son, without 
feeling that he was the partaker of the divine nature, or with- 
out feeling " how awful goodness is, and virtue in herself, 
how lovely." 

The manners of Prof. Benjamin Silliman were genial and 



128 

winning. He was sympathetic ; his own feelings going out 
towards others. He was magnetic ; drawing the feelings of 
others towards him. In the words of Cowper he was, 

" A man of letters and of manners too, 
Of manners sweet as virtue always wears. 
When gay good humor dresses her in smiles, 

He graced a College." 

The manners of Prof. Kingsley were modest and retiring. 
His pointed stories ; his juicy humor ; his pungent wit ; his 
quick perception of the ridiculous, and his fervent indigna- 
tion at wrong when coupled with dishonor, and the whole 
seasoned with Attic salt, produced a pleasing and lasting im- 
pression upon those who had intercourse with him. 

It may not be out of place to repeat here an anecdote. 
Prof. Kingsley, somewhere near 1820, visited Harvard Col- 
lege, and was received with the urbanity and politeness char- 
acteristic of the officers of that institution. At an evening 
party, at which he was present, the conversation turned upon 
the difficulty that had arisen between some of the orthodox 
people of Brooklyn, Conn., and a Unitarian minister, who 
had preached there as a candidate. President Kirkland, in 
his pleasant way said, "Prof. Kingsley, what is the diffi- 
culty at Brooklyn } Is it that the preacher's creed is too 
long or too short .''" Prof. Kingsley, in a manner equally 
pleasant, while all the company were waiting for his answer, 
replied; "As I understand it, the difficulty is not that his 
creed is too long or too short, but that he has no creed." 

This finished the conversation on this topic. 

The tutors of Yale in that period were Aretius Bevil Hull, 
Matthew Rice Button, Samuel Johnson Hitchcock, John 
Langdon, Josiah Willard Gibbs, Chauncey A. Goodrich, Ralph 
Emerson, Wm. Danielson, John Witter, Alexander Metcalf 
Fisher, and Denison Olmsted. All these men were Christian 
gentlemen, whose influence was powerful in forming the 
minds and manners of the students. It was interesting to 
see how a young man, somewhat clownish or somewhat row- 
dyish, would enter College, and after remaining there four 



129 

years, would graduate with his taste refined, and his manners 
polished, prepared to go into the community to refine the 
taste and improve the manners of others. 

John Adams, the second President of the United States, 
in a letter to President Stiles, in 1788, speaks of Yale Col- 
lege as " THE LIGHT OF A COMMONWEALTH THAT I ESTEEM THE 
PUREST PORTION OF MANKIND." 

* * * * View them near 
At home, where all their worth and pride is placed ; 
And there their hospitable fires burn clear, 
And there the lowliest farm-house hearth is graced 
With manly hearts, in piety sincere, 
Faithful in love, in honor stern and chaste, 
In friendship warm and true, in danger brave, 
Beloved in life, and sainted in the grave. 

And minds have there been nurtured, whose control 

Is felt even in their nation's destiny : 

Men who swayed senates with a statesman's soul, 

And looked on armies with a leader's eye ; 

Names that adorn and dignify the scroll 

Whose leaves contain their country's history, 

And tales of love and war *****. 



Halleck. 



In what Arcadian, what Utopian ground 
Are warmer hearts or manlier feelings found. 
More hospitable welcome, or more zeal 
To make the curious "tarrying" stranger feel 
That, next to home, here best may he abide. 
To rest and cheer him by the chimney-side ; 
Drink the hale farmer's cider, as he hears 
From the gray dame the tales of other years. 
Cracking his shagbarks, as the aged crone 
— Mixing the true and doubtful into one — 
Tells how the Indian scalped the helpless child, 
And bore its shrieking mother to the wild, 
Butchered the father hastening to his home. 

Seeking his cottage finding but his tomb. 

How drums and flags and troops were seen on high 
Wheeling and charging in the northern sky. 
And that she knew what these wild tokens meant. 
When to the Old French War her husband went. 



130 

How by the thunder-blasted tree, was hid 
The golden spoils of far-famed Robert Kidd ; 
And then the chubby grandchild wants to know 
About the ghosts and witches long ago, 
That haunted the old swamp. 

The clock strikes ten 



The prayer is said, nor unforgotten then 
The stranger in their gates. A decent rule 
Of Elders in thy puritanic school. 

When the fresh morning wakes him from his dream, 
And daylight smiles on rock, and slope, and stream, 
Are there not glossy curls and sunny eyes, 
As brightly lit and bluer than thy skies ; 
Voices as gentle as an echoed call, 
And sweeter than the softened waterfall 
That smiles and dimples in its whispering spray, 
Leaping in sportive innocence away ; 
And lovely forms, as graceful and as gay 
As wild-brier, budding in an April day ; ' 

— How like the leaves — the fragrant leaves it bears. 
Their sinless purposes and simple cares. 

Brainerd. 



H. 

During the sixteen years of the administration of Mr. Jef- 
ferson, commencing March 4, 1801, and of the administration 
of Mr. Madison, which closed March 4, 18 17, a policy was 
pursued by the Federal Government hostile to the commer- 
cial interests of Connecticut. To this policy, indicated by 
the embargo, by the non-intercourse act of Congress, and 
finally by the war, a large majority of the intelligent portion 
of Connecticut, including the ministers, were decidedly op- 
posed. This opposition was freely expressed at different 
times and in different ways. War with England was declared 
June 19, 1812. The requisition of troops made upon Con- 
necticut by the Secretary of War, was refused by the State 
authorities ; and a similar requisition made upon Massachu- 
setts was refused by the authorities of that State. The 
ground of refusal in each case was that the requisition was 
unconstitutional, Mr. Madison, in his message in November 



i8i2, calls this "a novel and unfortunate exposition of the 
provisions of the constitution relating to the militia." It was 
easier for him to call it " novel and unfortunate," than it was 
to prove that it was unsound in opposition to the opinion of 
the Superior Court of Massachusetts, of which Theophilus 
Parsons, the great jurist, was Chief Justice. The legislature 
of each of those states were as ready to maintain their rights 
in the Federal Union, as they were in the union with the 
mother country. They were as ready to resist Federal usur- 
pations, as they were British usurpations. They believed 
that " resistance to tyrants was obedience to God." 



I. 

From 1783, when peace was declared, to 181 8, when the 
constitution of the State was adopted, the ministers performed 
their professional duties with their usual earnestness and in- 
dustry, in the changing condition of the times. 

In 1792 an important change was made in the government 
of Yale College. Previous to that period, as ministers of 
Connecticut had founded Yale College, so none but ministers 
of Connecticut had been members of the corporation. In that 
year the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and six senior as- 
sistants were, by agreement with the General Assembly, made 
members of the corporation of Yale College, as a permanent 
arrangement. This act of the corporation, permitting lay- 
men to have a share in the government of the college, 
increased the confidence of the people of the state in the col- 
lege, and conciliated their favor towards the ministers. 
Thus, the ministers, by means of Yale College, had educated 
the leading men in the State up to the level of themselves, so 
that they could take part with them in the management of 
the college. 

Nearly all of these lay members of the corporation re- 
ceived the honors of the college, reckoning from 1792 to 
18 18, when the new order of things took place. 

In 1795, a fund, arising from the sale of the Western lands, 
3,166,000 acres, amounted to $1,200,000. The committee 



132 

appointed to make sale of the lands were, John Treadwell, 
James Wadsworth, Marvin Wait, William Edmund, T. 
Grovesnor, Aaron Austin, Elijah Hubbard, and Sylvester 
Gilbert. The school visitors annually appointed to visit the 
schools from time to time, were authorized " to superintend 
and direct the instruction of the youth in letters, religion, 
morals, and manners." Of these school visitors, the minister 
generally, if not universally, was chairman. 

We can readily believe that this noble grant of the fund 
for the support of common schools in Connecticut, never 
could have been made by the Legislature, without the favor- 
ing influence of the ministers of the State. 

In 1798 the General Association of Connecticut formed 
themselves into a society, called " The Missionary Society of 
Connecticut." The object of this society was to send mis- 
sionaries to the new settlements and to the Indians. The 
chairman of the Board of Trustees, appointed by the General 
Association, was the same John Treadwell who was chairman 
of the committee appointed by the Legislature to dispose of 
the Western lands. 

Great good was accomplished during the period we are 
considering, by the Missionary Society of Connecticut ; and 
many of the churches in the West, founded by these mission- 
aries, can look back with filial gratitude, and exclaim : "Con- 
necticut, the mother of us all." 

As early as 1774, the General Association recommended 
subscriptions among the people for supporting missionaries 
" to the scattered back settlements in the wilderness to the 
northwestward," in what is now Vermont and the northern 
part of New York. These settlements, to a large extent, 
were composed of emigrants from Connecticut. Rev. Messrs. 
Williams of Northford, Goodrich of Durham, and Trumbull 
of North Haven, were chosen a committee to receive funds 
and supply the place of missionaries, when those appointed 
by the General Association failed. Rev. Messrs. Taylor of 
New Milford, Waterman of Wallingford, and Bliss of Elling- 
ton, were selected as missionaries, to spend five or six months 
on a missionary tour " if the committee are able to provide 



^33 

for their support so long." The War of the Revokition inter- 
rupted the scheme and the growth of the settlements. 

*• In 1786, the subject came again before the General As- 
sociation," who took action thereon. 

In 1792, the General Association made a request of the 
General Assembly for " liberty to take up collections in the 
churches for the support of missionaries in this service. For 
several succeeding years a Committee of Missions was ap- 
pointed by the General Association — annual contributions 
were taken up in our churches, and numbers of missionaries 
entered the field — chiefly pastors, who left their flocks tem- 
porarily, to minister to the destitute in the wilderness." — 
(From Con. to the Ecc. His. of Conn., pages 163-4.) 

Thus it appears that Connecticut was the first State that 
moved to send missionaries to the Indians and to the new 
settlements. Thus Connecticut was the banner State in re- 
spect to missions, just as she was the banner State with 
respect to the magnificent fund for the support of common 
schools. 

In 1 8 10 the Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions 
was established, partly through the agency of ministers in 
Connecticut, and Governor John Treadwell, already men- 
tioned, was appointed president, and continued in oflice until 
his death, in 1823. 

In 1800 the ministers established the Evangelical Magazine 
of Connecticut. The first series continued for six years. 
The second series commenced in 1808, and continued eight 
years. This valuable work is an exponent of the piety, 
learning, and industry of the ministers of Connecticut in that 
period. 

In ancient Connecticut, Sunday for a long time was the 
great day of the week, and was generally observed with 
strictness. Saturday was sometimes called Preparation Day, 
because on that day the people made preparation for the 
observance of the Sabbath. The good housewife would put 
her house in order, and prepare her viands, that she might 
have full leisure for the religious observance of the day. 
Baked beans was a common dish for Saturday's supper ; so 



134 

was hasty pudding. On Saturday evening the children re- 
cited the Assembly of Divines' Catechism in the family, as 
they did in the forenoon of Saturday at school. Punctuality 
of attendance on public worship, was throughout Connecti- 
cut common law. The church-going bell, after it had re- 
placed the drum and the conch-shell, was rung at stated 
hours, and was tolled until the minister entered the house. 
There was the pulpit, sometimes elaborately finished ; there 
was the red velvet cushion, and the hour-glass, which, when 
the minister turned it, called to mind the distich : 

"As runs the glass, 
Man's life doth pass." 

Tithing-men were annually appointed in all the towns to 
secure the due observance of the Lord's Day. 

" No traveller, drover, wagoner, teamster, or any of their 
servants, shall travel on the Lord's day, (except from neces- 
sity or charity) on penalty of forfeiting a sum not exceeding 
three dollars and thirty-four centSy nor less than one dollar 
and sixty-seven cents!' 

It was not an uncommon thing for the tithing-man, or 
some other town officer, to arrest strangers, as they passed 
through the town on the Sabbath, sometimes greatly to the 
annoyance of the traveler. On one occasion a traveler was 
arrested on the Sabbath and was taken to the house of a 
justice of the peace, where he spent the day. About an 
hour before the sun went down, he complimented the justice 
for his kindness and hospitality, and told him he would be 
willing to pay his fine if he could be permitted to go in a 
retired way to the next town. The justice consented to the 
proposal, took the fine, and permitted the gentleman to 
depart. 

But the gentleman, who was a lawyer, said to the justice, 
" You, too, have violated the Sabbath law, by doing business 
prohibited by the statute. If you will return to me the fine 
which I have just paid, we v^ill quit scores. If not, I will 
prosecute you and have you fined." The justice reflected a 
moment upon it, and wisely gave him back the fine which 
he had paid. 



135 

" By the aforesaid statute for the observation of the Sab- 
bath, it is provided, that all and every person and persons in 
this state shall, on the Lord's Day, carefully apply themselves 
to the duties of religion and piety, publicly and privately ; 
and whatsoever person shall not duly attend the public v^or- 
ship of God on the Lord's day, in some congregation allowed 
by law, provided there be any on which he can conscien- 
tiously and conveniently attend, unless hindered by sickness, 
or otherwise necessarily prevented, shall for every such 
offense, pay a fine of fifty cents ; and being presented to 
authority, shall be deemed guilty thereof, if such person 
shall not be able to prove to the satisfaction of such author- 
ity, that he or she has attended the said worship." 

In many of the pews in many or most of the meeting- 
houses, small swing tables or stands were placed, on which 
one might take notes of the sermon. I have seen some of 
the notes thus taken, for the practice had not entirely passed 
away when I was young. 

Kedar, a negro slave of Dr. Jared Eliot, though unable to 
read or write, was still anxious to take notes from the preach- 
ing of his master as others did. Having obtained pen, ink, 
and paper, he made certain marks, which he showed to his 
master after service. His master, after he had looked at the 
paper, said, " Why, I can't read it." " Can't read it, massa .'* 
Why, every word came out of your own mouth." 

On returning from meeting, the family usually had an 
early tea, or rather supper, for it was several generations 
before tea replaced beer and cider as a beverage. As soon 
as the sun was set, and the Sabbath, according to their reck- 
oning, had passed by, there was the interchange of family 
visits, which promoted the charities of good neighborhood. 
In these interviews the conversation would turn upon the 
sermons which they had heard, the duties which had been 
enforced, and the sicknesses and bereavements which were 
noticed in the public prayers, and the new^s in the town 
generally. Thus, while the good impressions of the Sabbath 
were on their minds, they thought it a fitting time to culti- 
vate the social affections with their friends and neighbors. 



136 

It should be remembered, that in many of the towns, for 
a long period, there was but a single worshiping assembly 
on the Sabbath. Nearly every family was here represented. 

In the Heart of Mid Lothian, the Laird of Dumbiedykes 
is made to say that he saw Jennie Deans every Sabbath at 
church, and that was the reason why he came to think of 
marrying her. 

Early marriages were general ; frequently in the year in 
which the young man obtained his majority, and it often 
happened that his choice was made upon impressions re- 
ceived at church. 

Each of them being members of a family before marriage, 
and accustomed to the duties and cares of a family, they did 
not find the responsibilities of their new family condition 
annoying. They carried the bud, and leaf, and flower of 
their early feelings into their wedded life, and never realized 
in their experience " the waste of feelings unemployed, the 
leafless desert of the mind," sometimes entailed upon the 
votaries of single blessedness. 



J. 

During a portion of the time in the period we are con- 
sidering, namely, from 1783 to 18 18, some of the most dis- 
tinguished men that Connecticut ever produced, were living. 

There was William Samuel Johnson, the most accomplished 
scholar in the Federal Convention in 1787, and afterwards 
President of Columbia College. There was Roger Sherman, 
" who never said a foolish thing, and who, in good sense, was 
surpassed by no one, unless it was Dr. Franklin." There 
was Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth, statesman, jurist, diplo- 
matist ; and said to be thought of by Washington as his 
successor. There was Silas Deane, associated with Dr. Frank- 
lin in the treaty with France, and instrumental in introduc- 
ing Lafayette into this country. There was Gov. Jonathan 
Trumbull, the great war governor, to be known in all time 
as " Brother Jonathan." There was Samuel Huntington, his 
successor, President of the Continental Congress for two 



137 

years and Governor of the State from 1786 to 1796. There 
was Governor Jonathan Trumbull the younger, speaker in 
Congress. There was the brother of the latter, Col. John 
Trumbull, the aide-de-camp of Washington, and the great 
painter of Revolutionary scenes. There was Col. David 
Humphreys, the aide-de-camp of Washington, poet and diplo- 
matist, who brought into this country the " true golden 
fleece." There was Eli Whitney, the great inventor. There 
was Pierrepont Edwards. There was Uriah Tracy, states- 
man and orator, in whom was united wisdom and wit. There 
was Dr. Noah Webster, the great lexicographer. There was 
Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury, and Governor of 
the State of Connecticut ; and his cousin, Alexander Wol- 
cott, a leading politician. There was Zephanias Swift, the 
Blackstone of Connecticut. There was Tapping Reeve, the 
learned author of works on law, and founder of the celebrated 
law school at Litchfield. Judge James Gould, who was 
associated with him in the same school, and added to its 
reputation by his accurate learning, his logical precision, and 
eloquent statements. In their school were educated 1,015 
students. There was Timothy Pitkin, statesman and his- 
torian. There was Col. Jared Mansfield, a graduate of Yale 
College in 1777, surveyor-general of the United States, and 
Professor at West Point. There was Abiel Holmes, an 
eminent historian. There was Jedediah Morse, the eminent 
geographer. There was Roger Minott Sherman, rivaling 
Mr. Calhoun in his power of analysis. There was John 
Cotton Smith, a descendant of Rev. Henry Smith, of Weth- 
ersfield ; Rev. John Cotton, of Boston ; Rev. Cotton Mather, 
of Boston ; and the Rev. William Worthington, of Saybrook ; 
— the finished gentleman, as well as the accomplished Mem- 
ber of Congress, Governor of the State, and Judge of the 
Superior Court. There was Roger Griswold, who united 
the fine qualities of two noble families of Connecticut, the 
Wolcotts and the Griswolds, Member of Congress, Judge of 
the Superior Court, Governor of the State, and was appoint- 
ed Secretary of War. There was Calvin Goddard, the peer 
of the two last. There were Stephen Titus Hosmer, David 
18 



138 

Daggett, and Thomas S. Williams, each of them in turn 
Chief Justice of the State. 

Nor should it be forgotten that several who became dis- 
tinguished after 1818, received their education and laid the 
foundation for their eminence in the period we are consider- 
ing. There were Roger S. Baldwin, William W. Ellsworth, 
Ralph I. Ingersoll, Samuel Church, William L. Storrs, Gideon 
Welles, George D. Prentice, and others. 

There were also John Pierrepont, Mrs. Emma Willard, 
James A. Hillhouse, Mrs. Lydia H. Sigourney, Samuel G. 
Goodrich, Fitz-Greene Halleck, James Gates Percival, John 
G. C. Brainard, and George Hill. 



K. 

Some of the great English poets have given us portraits 
of the good parson or minister. The ministers of ancient 
Connecticut, in some of their features, resembled these por- 
traits as much as if they had sat for them. 

Thus Chaucer, born 1328, died 1400: 

"Wide was his cure; the houses far asunder, 
Yet never failed he, or for rain or thunder, 
Whenever sickness or mischance might call, 
The most remote to visit, great or small. 

jj^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

But dwelt at home, and guarded well his fold, 
So that it should not by the wolf miscarry; 
He was a shepherd, and no mercenary. 
Tho' holy in himself and virtuous. 
He still to sinful men was mild and piteous: 
Not of reproach imperious or malign; 
But in his teaching soothing and benign. 
To draw them on to heaven, by reason fair 
And good example, was his daily care. 
But were there one perverse and obstinate, 
Were he of lofty or of low estate, 
Him would he sharply with reproof astound, 
A better priest is nowhere to be found." 

So, too, Dryden, born 163 1, died 1700: 



139 

"With eloquence innate his tongue was armed ; 
Though harsh the precept, yet the people charmed, 
For, letting down the golden chain from high. 
He drew his audience upward to the sky : 

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

He preached the joys of Heaven, and pains of Hell, 

And warned the sinner with becoming zeal ; 

But on eternal mercy loved to dwell. 

He taught the gospel rather than the law ; 

And forced himself to drive ; but loved to draw." 

So Goldsmith, born 1729, died 1774: 

"Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride, 
And even his failings leaned to virtue's side; 
But in his duty prompt, at every call. 
He watched and wept, he prayed and felt, for all : 
And, as a bird each fond endearment tries 
To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies, 
He tried each art, reproved each dull delay. 
Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way. 

jjt i|i *jt >jt ^1^ 

To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given, 
But all his serious thoughts had rest in Heaven. 
As some tall cliff, that lifts its awful form, 
Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm, 
Tho' round its breast the rolling clouds are spread, 
Eternal sunshine settles on its head." 

So Cowper, born 1731, died 1800: 

" I would express him simple, grave, sincere ; 
In doctrine uncorrupt ; in language plain. 
And plain in manner ; decent, solemn, chaste, 
And natural in gesture ; much impressed 
Himself, as conscious of his awful charge. 
And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds 
May feel it too ; affectionate in look, 
And tender in address, as well becomes 
A messenger of grace to guilty men." 

The ministers of Connecticut in the Revolution, nearly all of 
them, sleep with their several flocks, and the inscriptions on 
their gravestones are often read. Their descendants are 
still among us ; their houses are pointed out to the stranger ; 



I40 

their lands are still called by their names. Anecdotes of 
some of them are still current among their people. Their 
record is on high. 



L. 

As has already been mentioned, the leading Federalists 
and the ministers of Connecticut were opposed to the war of 
1812. Still they were decidedly in favor of resisting, by 
force of arms, all invasions and raids by the British. State 
troops were embodied for that purpose, and provision was 
made even for raising, for the same purpose, a body of 
exempts, under the command of Gen. David Humphreys, the 
aid-de-camp of Washington. 

In the summer or early autumn of 18 14, a frigate, a sloop 
of war, and several tenders were lying at anchor, near Faulk- 
ner's Island, belonging to the blockading squadron off New 
London, commanded at one time by Commodore Hardy, and 
afterwards by Admiral Hotham. These vessels, thus lying 
at Faulkner's Island, were regarded by the neighboring 
towns, Guilford, Branford, and Killingworth, as a standing 
menace. They would sometimes bellow forth from their 
great guns, their mimic thunder, to " startle the dull ear of 
night," and fill the minds of the fearful with forebodings of 
forthcoming evil. 

One morning, about eight or nine o'clock, a man came 
riding through the streets of East Guilford, now Madison, 
from west to east, crying " Turn out ! turn out ! the British 
are coming ! the British are coming ! " On the word, numbers 
of the young and active men went down to the west wharf, 
to defend a vessel on the stocks against any attacks by the 
British. On our arrival, we found what proved to be two 
barges, forty-six men on board each, armed with muskets, 
there being a short cannon at the bow, a six-pounder, for car- 
rying grape shot. These barges, impelled by the strong arms 
of trained oarsmen, came rushing along on the level brine, 
directly towards the vessel, behind which we had taken our 



141 

position, and where we had determined to give them a warm 
welcome. 

Suddenly these barges changed their course, and steered 
directly for the east wharf, where they would arrive sooner 
than we could, who had to follow the windings of the shore. 
One of them went to the east side of the wharf, and pro- 
ceeded to cut out a sloop, loaded with earthen ware, from 
Norwalk. Her consort took a position on the west side of 
the same wharf, nearly south of Scranton's fish-house, and 
about twelve or fifteen rods from the shore, for the purpose 
of supporting her. 

Our company, increased to forty or fifty, took their position 
back of the beach, east of Scranton's fish-house, and com- 
menced to fire upon the supporting barge. One of our men 
fired seventeen rounds at the barge, and another not more 
than seven, and all of them averaging about ten rounds. 
The prize having been carried off, the two barges left us. 

In the early part of the action. Dr. John Eliot, the clergy- 
man, and Dr. Jonathan Todd, the physician, came down on 
their horses, to be ready for the cure of the bodies and the 
cure of the souls. Both of them took their position under a 
hickory tree, and awaited the issue. A charge of grape-shot 
passed through the top of the tree, cutting off some of the 
branches, but without doing any further injury. Some of 
the elderly men told me that this was just what used to hap- 
pen in the time of the Revolutionary War. 

The minister and the physician always came down as soon 
as there was an alarm, to be ready for service. On this 
occasion there were none of us killed, thanks to the bad 
shooting of the British, though it was said that we killed two 
men, who were buried the next day on Goose Island, near 
Faulkners Island. 

In one such skirmish during the Revolutionary War, there 
was a man by the name of Meigs killed by the British in 
East Guilford, near Fence Creek, just east of East Wharf. 



142 



M. 



From the time of the meeting of the Federal Convention 
in 1787 to the close of the administration of John Adams in 
1 80 1, the star of Connecticut in the political hemisphere 
was in the ascendant, if not in its culmination. In that period 
Wm. vSamuel Johnson, Oliver Ellsworth, and Roger Sherman 
had great influence in the Federal Convention. In that 
period those three men were a portion of the time Senators. 
There was Oliver Ellsworth. There was Oliver Wolcott, 
and Roger Griswold ; there was Eliphalet Dyer, and Jesse 
Root, and Charles Chauncey ; there was Stephen Mix Mitch- 
ell, member of Congress, Senator, and Chief-Justice of the 
State. In that period Samuel Huntington was a signer of 
the Declaration of Independence. In that period was John- 
athan Trumbull, the second Governor of that name. In that 
period Samuel W. Dana was a leading member of Congress, 
and one of the best, if not the best, scholar in that body. 
Chauncey Goodrich was at that time a leading member of 
Congress, of whom, when he was afterwards a Senator, Mr. 
Jefferson remarked : " I would give more for the opinion of 
that gray-headed Yankee than for that of one-third of the 
Senate." The following is the well-known testimony of Mr. 
Calhoun, from his speech in the Senate of the United States, 
February 20, 1847 • (See Calhoun's Works, vol. iv, p. 354.) 
" It is owing — I speak it here in honor of New England and 
the Northern States — it is owing mainly to the States of 
Connecticut and New Jersey, that we have a federal instead 
of a national government — that we have the best government 
instead of the most despotic and intolerable on the earth. 
Who were the men of these States to whom we are indebted 
for this admirable government ? I will name them. Their 
names ought to be engraven on brass and live for ever ! They 
were Chief-Justice Ellsworth, Roger Sherman, and Judge 
Patterson of New Jersey. The other States farther south 
were blind ; they did not see the future. But to the sagacity 
and coolness of these three men, aided by a few others, but 
not so prominent, we owe the present Constitution. 



143 

" So completely did the National party succumb, that during 
a large portion of the latter part of the sittings of the con- 
vention the word ' National ' was not named. The * Fed- 
eral,' and the ' Union/ became the favorite names. The 
National party was completely overthrown ; and what is re- 
markable, the very men who took the lead of the National 
party, assumed the name of ' Federalists,' — clearly showing 
that it had become the favorite name." 

Having thus given the testimony of one distinguished man, 
Mr. Calhoun, in favor of Connecticut, I should hardly be ex- 
cusable if I omitted to give the testimony of another, namely, 
Alexis de Tocqueville. This distinguished man, after spending 
some time in the United States, published in the year 1835, 
his celebrated work, De la Democratic aux Etats Unis ; uni- 
versally considered as the ablest work ever written by a for- 
eigner on the nature of the confederation formed by the 
adoption of the present Federal Constitution. The transla- 
tions of his two volumes were published in 1836 and 1840, 
which gave him great reputation in this country, as the origi- 
nal work had in countries in Europe. 

Not long after this work was published, a number of Ameri- 
can gentlemen celebrated the 4th of July in Paris, and invited 
Monsieur De Tocqueville to be present. Among the remarks 
made on the occasion Connecticut was mentioned by a native 
of that State. Upon this Monsieur De Tocqueville arose and 
exclaimed : 

" Connect-de-coot, Vy, messieurs, I vill tell you, vid the per- 
mission of de presidante of this festiz;^/, von very lee\.2X story, 
and then I vill give you von grand sentiment, to dat little 
State you call Connect-de-coot. Von day ven I was in de 
gallery of the House of Representatif, I held one map of the 
Confederation in my hand. Dere vas von leetle yellow spot 
dat dey called Connect-de-coot. I found by the Constitution 
he was entitled to six of his boys to represent him on dat 
floor. But ven I make de acquaintance person^//^ with de 
member, I find dat more than tirty of the Representatif on 
dat floor was born in Connect-de-coot. And then ven I was 
in the gallery of the House of the Sen<2:/, I find de Constitu- 



144 

tion permit Connect-de-coot to send two of his boys to repre- 
sent him in dat Legislature. But once more ven I make de 
acquaintance person^//^ of the Senator, I find nine of de Sen- 
ator was born in Connect-de-coot. So, den, gentlemen, I 
have made my leetle speech ; now I vill give you my grand 
sentiment : 

"Connect-de-coot, the leetle yellow spot dat make de 
clock-peddler, de school- master, and de senator. De first, 
give you time ; the second, tell you what you do with him ; 
and de sird make your law and your civilization ; " — and then, 
as he was resuming his seat amidst roars of laughter, he rose 
again, and with that peculiar gesticulation which character- 
izes all Frenchmen in moments of excitement, he shook his 
finger tremulously over the assembled confr^reSy and ex- 
claimed to the top of his voice, " Ah ! gentleman, dat leetle 
yellow State you call Connect-de-coot, is one very great mir- 
acle to me." 

The Connecticut of to-day has much in it of the Connecti- 
cut of 1776, and much in it of the Connecticut of 1636. Still 
there have been great changes in government, in agricultural, 
manufacturing, and commercial industry. There have been 
great changes in the instrumentalities of religion, in denomi- 
national opinions, and in patriarchal customs. There have 
likewise been great changes in educational and social institu- 
tions. The profit and loss from these changes can be better 
estimated from their long results, by those who come after 
us than by ourselves. 

May that Gracious Being who holds the future in the hol- 
low of his hand, and who can cause the wrath and the wis- 
dom of man to praise him, so overrule the future as he has 
the past, that in 1976, men can say with the same adoring 
gratitude which ought to swell our hearts, Qtd transtulit 
sustinet. 



THE RELATIONS 



OF THE 



COf REGATIO\AL CHUIjCHES OF COHtiECTICUT 



TO 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT, 

/ 



AND TO 



POPULAR EDUCATION AND SOCIAL REFORMS. 



I am invited to speak, historically, concerning " the rela- 
tions of the Congregational churches of Connecticut to civil 
government and to popular education and social reforms," 
during the period of one hundred and forty years preceding 
the declaration of our national independence. The theme is 
large — larger, perhaps, than those who proposed it thought 
when they made the appointment, and I hope to be pardoned 
if my treatment of it shall seem inadequate and superficial. 

We go back to the beginning. How did " civil government " 
begin in Connecticut } The story is not unfamiliar ; but let us 
recollect its outlines. In the year 1636, three distinct compa- 
nies of emigrants from England relinquished the settlement 
which they had formed in Massachusetts ; and having made 
some preparation a few months before for their settlement 
beyond the jurisdiction of that colony, removed to a new land 
of promise on the banks of the Connecticut. Who were 
they .'' What were they } It is hardly enough to say that 
they were men who, in that age of ecclesiastical inquiry and 
conflict among Englishmen, had accepted the theory that 
every congregation of Christian believers, meeting statedly 

19 



146 

for worship and edification, and recognizing each other as 
brethren in their common Lord, is a complete church of 
Christ, dependent only on Him for its right of self-govern- 
ment and for all its functions, — or, in one word, that they 
were Congregationalists. Nor is it quite enough to say that 
one great end of their original migration from England was, 
that in a new world not yet encumbered by old ecclesiasti- 
cisms, the growth of priestly or royal usurpation, they might 
worship God in churches instituted and controlled according 
to that theory. Let it be remembered, then, that the three 
distinct companies of emigrants who came from the colony 
of the Bay to begin a new colony on the River, were dis- 
tinctly three, and not one, just because they were, or were to 
be three congregations for worship and Christian brother- 
hood — that is to say, three Congregational churches. That 
was the idea which determined the settlement of the three 
distinct companies in three distinct towns, Windsor, Hart- 
ford, and Wethersfield, and which was determined in all their 
civil and social arrangements. I will venture to illustrate this 
position by some particulars of the story. 

What is now known as the First Church of Christ in 
Windsor, was gathered not at Windsor, nor anywhere this 
side of the Atlantic, but in old England. Just about the be- 
ginning of the year 1630, namely, in the month of March, a 
company of religious people from the three contiguous 
counties of Devon, Dorset, and Somerset, had come together 
at the old seaport of Plymouth to embark for New England, 
expecting there to be neighbors and brethren. Before their 
embarkation (which was March 20, O. S.) they associated 
themselves by covenanting one with another as a church of 
Christ, on a day which they had set apart for that purpose, 
and which they kept with fasting and prayer. On that day 
(probably March 17) they completed their ecclesiastical or- 
ganization by solemnly ordaining to the offices of pastor and 
teacher two of their own number who had been beneficed cler- 
gymen in the national church of England, John Warham and 
John Maverick. The church then and there constituted, 
having crossed, the ocean, planted itself among the settle- 



M7 

ments which Winthrop and his associates were then founding 
around the Massachusetts Bay. Dorchester was the name 
which those emigrants (some of them from Dorchester in old 
Dorsetshire) gave to their settlement. There they abode for 
a time, beginning to build their homes and cultivate their 
farms, maintaining public worship under the guidance of 
their colleague ministers, and providing for that worship a 
temporary edifice such as the newness of their enterprise 
would permit. 

In like manner, the First Church of Christ in Hartford 
was instituted, not where it has been shining for these two 
hundred and forty years, but in Massachusetts, at a place 
which was then called Newtown. A large number of re- 
ligious people in the English county of Essex, had been 
deprived of what they deemed a great privilege. By the 
operation of English law, Thomas Hooker, the gifted and 
earnest preacher whose ministry brought them to the 
knowledge of the truth and led them in the way of life, 
had been silenced and driven into Holland. Having com- 
municated with him in the place of his retreat, they re- 
solved upon migrating to New England and making a 
settlement in the wilderness with him for their spiritual 
leader. Some of them came over as early as 1632, and, after 
a short residence at Braintree, which received its name from 
them, removed to the " New Town " which the government 
of Massachusetts was forming, with the intention of making 
it their capital, and which, when that design was relinquished, 
became the seat of their college, and was therefore named 
Cambridge. At Newtown, those " of Mr. Hooker's com- 
pany," as they came over, made their rendezvous. He him- 
self, escaping with some difficulty from England, whither he 
had returned from Holland on his way to the New World, ar- 
rived in 1633, ^^d with him came Samuel Stone, whom he 
had persuaded to accompany him, in the expectation of being 
associated with him in his ministry. There, at Newtown, the 
company of emigrants from Essex became a church ; and on 
the iith=2ist of October, a fast was kept, and the two min- 
isters were ordained to their offices of pastor and teacher. 



148 

Another of the earliest churches gathered in Massachusetts 
was that of Watertown. It consisted largely of those who 
had come over under the leadership of Sir Richard Salton- 
stall, one of the chiefs in the enterprise of founding the 
colony of the Bay. He had agreed with them in the selec- 
tion of George Phillips to minister the word of God in their 
contemplated settlement. They were part of the great emi- 
gration with Winthrop in 1630. Arriving at Salem, the 
earliest of them on the 12th of June (O. S.), they were so 
prompt in selecting a place for their settlement, and in re- 
moving to it, that on the 30th of July they were ready to 
consecrate their town by instituting the Church of Christ in 
Watertown. In the words of Cotton Mather, " They resolved 
that they would combine into a church-fellowship there as 
their Jirst work, and build the house of God before they could 
build many houses for themselves ; thus they sought first the 
kingdom of God." 

Those few towns around Boston harbor had hardly been 
instituted — their municipal and religious institutions had not 
really taken root — when the superior attractiveness of the 
rich alluvial banks on the great New England river began to 
be felt. An embassy came from the Indians on the 
river, desiring to have an English settlement among 
them, for they hoped to obtain in that way protection 
against their enemies, the ferocious Pequots.* Two years 
later, the Plymouth colony invited Massachusetts to join in 
making a commercial establishment on the river, for the 
benefit of both colonies. For some reason, Winthrop and 
his associates at Boston declined all such invitations. But 
meanwhile the thought of a new colony beyond the jurisdic- 
tion of the chartered " Governor and Company of Massachu- 
setts," was growing into a purpose ; and the result was that, 
after a year or two of argument and agitation, the consent of 
Massachusetts to the founding of such a colony was reluct- 
antly given. The church of Newtown, as a church, with its 
officers, and the church of Dorchester, in like manner, re- 
moved to Connecticut. Doubtless they left behind them 
some of their members in each of those places ; — the Dor- 

* Winthrop, History of New England, i, 52. 



149 

Chester church lost one of its ministers, — its teacher Maver- 
ick, who died February 13, 1630, while the removal was in 
progress, and of whom it is testified that he was " faithful in 
furthering the work of the Lord both in the churches and 
civil state."* Doubtless those who chose to remain for the 
purpose of reorganization, were fraternally dismissed. Never- 
theless, the fact is that those two churches removed to Con- 
necticut as churches, each of them bringing its entire 
organization unbroken ; and that other churches were gath- 
ered in the places thus vacated. That which is now known 
as the First Church in Cambridge, was instituted with all 
formality t (Feb. 1 = 1 1, 1636) before the original church under 
Hooker and Stone set out (April 30=May 10) on its march 
through the wilderness ;J and "a new church was gathered 
at Dorchester,"§ (Aug. 23=Sept. 3) three months later. 

It was not so with the Watertown church. Instead of re- 
moving to Connecticut in its corporate character, with the 
other two churches, it remained in its original seat with its 
pastor. Some of its members — a small minority — were dis- 
missed '* with intent to form anew in a church covenant," at 
the river, and they had done so (April 26=^ May 6) || before 
Hooker and his o^reat caravan set out from Newtown. Thus 
in that plantation also, there was a Congregational church at 
the very beginning, just as there was in the other two. In 
each of those three settlements — known at first as Dorches- 
ter, Newtown, and Watertown, but afterwards named Wind- 
sor, Hartford, and Wethersfield — the Church of Christ, 
instituted according to the Congregational theory, was the 
first rudiment of their social organization. 

Their civil affairs were conducted at first by a simply pro- 
visional government, originating (as the records of Massa- 
chusetts incidentally inform us) " from the desire of the 
people that removed, who judged it inconvenient to go away 
without any frame of government, — not from any claim of 
the Massachusetts of jurisdiction over them by virtue of 
patent." So careful were the founders of the new colony 
to define the origin of their civil government. They took 

* Winthrop i, iSi. t Ibid., 180. t ^bid., i, 187. 

%Ibid.y 192. II Col. Records of Conn., i, 2. 



ISO 

pains to have it put upon record in Massachusetts, that even 
the provisional government under which the first stakes were 
to be driven, derived its power not from that chartered Gov- 
ernor and Company, nor from the grant of the Earl of War- 
wick to certain noblemen and gentlemen in England, but 
from the desire and consent of the people. When that pro- 
visional government (limited by its commission to one year) 
had expired, a '' General Court," consisting of magistrates and 
committees from the towns, appears upon the record as a 
matter of course, without any explanation. May i = i i, 1637.)* 
As yet there was no written or formal constitution, but the 
committees, or deputies from the several towns, " chose their 
magistrates, installed them into their government, took oath 
of them for the execution of justice according to God, and 
engaged themselves to submit to their government and the 
execution of justice by their means, and dispensed by the 
authority which they put upon them by choice."! By that Gen- 
eral Court war was waged, taxes were imposed and collected, 
trade was regulated, all the legislative functions of govern- 
ment were performed as there was need. At the close of the 
year that court declared itself dissolved, and its successor was 
constituted in the same way, for the ensuing year. (April, 
1638.) Before the ensuing year had rounded its course, a writ- 
ten constitution was established, (Jan. 14=24, 1639) — ^^^ ^^^^ 
in the history of nations. 

The preamble of that constitution begins by devoutly ac- 
knowledging the Divine Providence which had brought the 
inhabitants of the three towns to their new abode. Then, 
having affirmed the principle that " where a people are gath- 
ered together, the Word of God requires that to maintain the 
peace and union of such a people there should be an orderly 
and decent government established according to God ; " it 
proceeds, "We do therefore associate and conjoin ourselves 
as one public State or Commonwealth, and do, for ourselves 
and our successors, and such as shall be adjoined to us at any 

*Conn. Col. Rec, i, 9. 

t Thomas Hooker to John Winthrop, in Collections of Conn. Historical 
Society, i, 13, 14. 

18 



151 

time hereafter, enter into combination and confederation to- 
gether, to maintain and preserve the Uberty and purity of the 
gospel of our Lord Jesus which we now profess, as also the 
discipline of the churches which according to the truth of 
said gospel is now practiced among us ; — As also in our civil 
affairs to be guided and governed according to such laws, 
rules, orders, and decrees, as shall be made, ordered, and de- 
creed, as followeth." Then follow the eleven Fundamental 
Orders, by which civil offices are instituted and defined, 
and the election of officers is provided for, and according to 
which the self-government of the new •' public State or Com- 
monwealth " is to be conducted, — all power reverting, year by 
year, to the people from whom it proceeds. 

In the light of these details we see vividly,, what the Con- 
gregational churches of Connecticut had to do with the be- 
ginning of civil government on the river two hundred and 
forty years ago. i. The founding of the colony in those 
three towns was by and for the churches ; and in each town 
the church, having been constituted by the mutual agreement 
of its members, and by their covenant with each other and 
with God, was the first rudiment of organized social life. 
2. From the method in which these churches were formed, 
by agreement and covenant, without seeking to derive their 
rights and powers from any other source than Christ himself, 
it was an obvious and easy step to the formation of a " public 
State or Commonwealth " by the same method of agreement 
and covenant — a Commonwealth deriving its rights of self- 
government directly from the will of God. 

We have other testimony, showing more definitely under 
whose teaching and influence that first written constitution 
of a civil government was formed. Among the Puritans of old 
time, it was a custom to take notes of the sermons which 
they heard ; and so Henry Wolcott, Junior, (a leading man 
in the settlement of Windsor,) used to make his stenographic 
record of sermons in a book which was preserved by his de- 
scendants — though to them, generation after generation, it 
was a sealed book. Not many years ago, there was brought 
forth from that book, by patient and skillful deciphering, a 
sermon (or rather the heads of a sermon) preached by Thomas 



152 

Hooker at Hartford, May 31, 1638. It was a week-day lec- 
ture ; for May 31, that year, was Thursday. That it was 
pre?x:hed on some occasion of general concourse, may be in- 
ferred from the matter of it, and from the fact that Mr. Henry 
Wolcott, Jr., from Windsor, was there taking notes. From 
the text, Deut. i, 13, "Take you wise men, and understand- 
ing, and known among your tribes, and I will make them 
rulers over you," the preacher deduced these three heads of 
"doctrine." I. "The choice of public magistrates belongs 
unto the people by God's own allowance." H. " The privi- 
lege of election, which belongs to the people, must not be 
exercised according to their humors, but according to the 
blessed will and law of God." HI. " They who have power 
to appoint ofificers and magistrates, it is in their power, also, 
to set the bounds and limitations of the power and place unto 
which they call them." In illustration and support of these 
doctrines, the preacher affirmed, as a principle of " reason " 
or common-sense, that " the foundation of authority [in civil 
government] is laid, firstly, in the free consent of the people." 
When he came to the " uses " — or, as we should say, the 
application of his discourse — he called on his hearers to ac- 
knowledge thankfully " God's faithfulness " towards them, 
and the good providence which had made it practicable for 
them thus to " choose " their own " public magistrates in the 
fear of God, and " to set the bounds and limitations of the 
power " with which their magistrates should be invested — 
that good providence which (in other words) had made them 
free to organize their infant commonwealth by "such measures 
as God doth command and vouchsafe." Most naturally did 
the preacher conclude his discourse with an appeal, which 
the short-hand reporter summed up in the words, " Exhor- 
tation — to persuade us, as God hath given us liberty, to take 
it."* That sermon by Thomas Hooker from the pulpit of the 
First Church in Hartford, is the earliest known suggestion of 
a fundamental law, enacted not by royal charter, nor by con- 
cession from any previously existing government, but by the 
people themselves — a primary and supreme law by which the 
government is constituted, and which not only provides for 

* J. H. Trumbull, in Collections of Conn. Historical Society, i, 19-21. 



153 

the free choice of magistrates by the people, but also " sets 
the bounds and limitations of the power and place to which " 
each magistrate is called. 

Remember the date of that Thursday lecture, May 31== 
June 10, 1638 — nearly eight months before the eleven articles 
of the first written constitution were "sentenced, ordered, 
and decreed " in a full assembly of the people. We may 
reasonably assume that others besides Henry Wolcott, Jr., 
took notes of it, — at least we may believe that others took 
careful notice of it and remembered it. We may be sure 
that the doctrine and the exhortation of the sermon were 
talked about not only among the leading men, such as 
Haynes, Ludlow, and the rest, but by the farmers in their 
corn-fields, and in casual meetings of two or three, and (as 
the days grew short and the evenings long) by neighbors 
gathered around some glowing fireside. We may be sure 
that many a text not only from the Old Testament, but from 
Rom. xiii, and many other New Testament passages, was 
handled in sermons on Sabbath-days and lecture-days, and 
that the doctrine propounded by Mr. Hooker was discussed 
in the two other pulpits. We may be sure that the first 
draught of the Fundamental Orders was made early enough 
to be carefully considered ; that every word of it was judi- 
ciously pondered, and every. phrase corrected that seemed 
dubious ; that even the omission of all reference to the king, 
or to any superior authority in England, was not accidental ; 
and that, when the finished instrument was submitted to the 
people, they knew what they were doing, and what was to be 
the significancy and effect of their vote. They knew that in 
the exercise of a Divine Right they were establishing civil 
government in what had been, but was never more to be, a 
wilderness ; and that the government which they were es- 
tablishing was to be administered by chosen servants of the 
people constantly responsible to the people for the exercise 
of powers strictly bounded and limited. The entire proceed- 
ing was a great advance beyond the political wisdom of 
former times ; and what the three churches of Connecticut 
had to do with the development of that political wisdom in 

20 



154 

the three towns of Connecticut, is too manifest to be dis- 
puted. 

Before any white man had settled on the soil of Connecticut, 
the entire territory of our State had become in English law 
the property of the Puritan Earl of Warwick. In 1632, he 
transferred that possession to several noblemen and gentle- 
men who, by his deed or patent, were constituted proprietors 
of Connecticut. It was with the consent — or at least the ac- 
quiescence — of these proprietors as represented by their 
agents at Boston,* that the colony was established on the 
river. It was under a similar arrangement that the originally 
independent towns which, after a little while, became the New 
Haven colony, were planted. Those proprietors or patentees, 
Lord Say-and-Seal, Lord Brook, Lord Rich, and eight dis- 
tinguished knights and gentlemen, of whom one was John 
Pym, and another was John Hampden — were among the most 
advanced leaders of the reforming party of England ; and 
they seem to have cared less for the uncertain power of gov- 
erning their territory than for having it planted with Eng- 
lishmen of the right sort. Let us look then, at the beginning 
of civil government in this part of Connecticut, and see what 
was the relation of the Congregational churches to that be- 
ginning. 

On the 26th of July,=5th of August, 1637, the ship Hec- 
tor arrived at Boston, in company with another ship, both 
from London. In these vessels came a distinguished com- 
pany of emigrants of whom the two most conspicuous were 
John Davenport lately vicar of the parish of St. Stephens, 
Coleman street, London, and Theophilus Eaton, of the same 
parish, an eminent merchant. Others of the company were 
from the same metropolitan parish, following the late vicar in 
his exile. They had come to New England — the leaders and 
their followers — with the intention of becoming a church, 
and of making a "plantation" or settlement for that purpose. 
They were welcomed at Boston, as bringing a large increase 
of strength to New England ; and many offers were made to 
them both in Massachusetts and in the Plymouth colony. 

*J. H. Trumbull, Historical Notes on the Constitution of Conn , 5. 



155 

But for various reasons, they chose to make a new beginning. 
A few weeks after their arrival (as we learn from the contem- 
porary record of Winthrop), " Mr. Eaton and some others of 
Mr. Davenport's company went to view Quinepiack with in- 
tent to begin a plantation there,"* — i. e. if the prospect should 
seem favorable. We may assume that Eaton with his ex- 
ploring party arrived at this point not far from September 
14-24. He saw the "broad-armed port," — the wooded plain 
just beginning to put on its autumn glory, — the basaltic bluffs 
that face the harbor, — the ranges of hills on the east and the 
west, — the streams that receive their waters from those hills, 
— the river, floating here and there an Indian canoe, and 
inviting to inland exploration, — and why might there not be 
here a commercial city } Some of the exploring party (as the 
local tradition tells us) were left here for the winter to make 
such preparation as would be necessary if this should be de- 
determined on as the place for the intended plantation. For 
almost nine months after the arrival of the Hector in the 
port of Boston, "Mr. Davenport's company" seem to have 
held the question about the place of their settlement unde- 
cided, — their judgment gradually shaping itself in favor of 
this location. When the end of winter was at hand, the de- 
cision could be no longer postponed, and on the i2Xh.=22d of 
March, 1638, Davenport and Eaton, in behalf of their com- 
pany, announced the decision in a formal letter to the Gov- 
ernor and assistants, and the General Court of Massachusetts. 
They had come **to a full and final conclusion," and had "sent 
letters to Connectacutt for a speedy transacting the purchase 
of the parts about Quillypieck, from the natives which might 
* pretend title thereunto.' " They considered themselves, 
therefore, "absolutely and irrevocably engaged that way;" 
and with devout expressions of Christian friendship, they 
bade farewell to Massachusetts. 

The company had been re-inforced in Massachusetts by 

*The date of that expedition (Aug. 31), was five days after the return of 
Stoughton with the force under his command, which had finished the Pequot 
war. See what Stoughton had written about "Quillipeage river, and so beyond 
to the Dutch." Winth., i, 481, also p. 233. 



IS6 

not a few who had been previously settled there, and having 
completed their arrangements, they sailed from Boston, March 
30- April 9, 1638. In planning their enterprise, and prepar- 
ing for it, they had not overlooked the necessity of a com- 
pact among themselves, including a provisional government. 
Having come together, they kept a day of fasting ;* and on 
that day, " the whole assembly of free-planters " — all the part- 
ners in the enterprise — bound themselves to each other by a 
religious covenant which they called "a plantation covenant," 
and which (though no copy of it has been preserved), included 
doubtless, a preliminary and pro te^npore arrangement for 
maintaining peace and order in the town they were to estab- 
lish, and for transacting their civil affairs, as well as for the 
ordinary business of their partnership. Thus, when they 
landed here, they were not a mere crowd of men, women, and 
children, masters and servants, but an organized company 
held together by a sacred compact. They had not yet be- 
come in form a church, nor had they organized definitively 
their civil commonwealth ; but they had come hither for the 
purpose of constituting a church, and at the same time a 
state. Only a single provision of their " plantation covenant" 
is distinctly known to us, — namely, " that as in matters that 
concern the gathering and ordering of a church, so likewise 
in all public offices [duties], which concern civil order," — "we 
will, all of us, be ordered by those rules which the Scripture 
holds forth to us." Under that "plantation covenant," they 
seem to have conducted their civil affairs, and their public 
worship and religious edification, for a period of more than 
sixteen months after their landing on the soil which they had 
bargained for with the native proprietors, and on which they 
were to build their homes. At the close of that period, their 
church was constituted [Aug. 22=Sept. i, 1639]; but it was 
not till nine weeks later [Oct. 25], that the civil government 
was finally organized, and the announcement solemnly pro- 
claimed : " All former power or trust for managing any pub- 
lic affairs in this plantation, into whose hands soever formerly 

*"The first day of extraordinary humiliation we had after we came together.'''' 
N. H. Col. Records, 12. 



157 

committed, is now abrogated and from henceforward utterly 
to cease." 

Such was the beginning of civil government in the new 
settlement at Ouinipiack. That civil government, let us re- 
member, was not formed for a nation like the people of Eng- 
land, nor for a great colony with a royal charter of privileges 
like the then existing colony of Massachusetts, nor for a 
cluster of settlements like the three towns of Connecticut, 
nor for some Utopian commonwealth in the realm of imagi- 
nation. Milford and Guilford were coming into existence at 
the same time with New Haven, and were shaping their in- 
stitutions in accordance with the same ideas ; but the three 
plantations were severally independent, and it was not till 
four years later that they were "combined" and began to be 
known as the New Haven colony or jurisdiction. The gov- 
ernment which "the free planters " set up here, October 25 =: 
Nov. 4, 1639, ^^^ simply an arrangement for administering 
justice and keeping the peace in one plantation, such as 
Plymouth was in its beginning. It did not occur to those 
free planters that they were not to manage the affairs of their 
partnership in their own way. They had purchased a certain 
tract of land for their own use, and they intended not to lose 
the control of it. They had purchased the soil, and were in- 
tending to live upon it and to be buried in it, for the purpose 
of founding and perpetuating here a church which should 
not be under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London, nor 
subject in any way to the ecclesiastical laws and courts with 
which their experience in their native country had made 
them well acquainted. Therefore they determined, unani- 
mously, that the government which they were setting up 
should not, by any negligence of theirs, pass into the hands 
of their enemies, the enemies of their great religious enter- 
prise. Let us remember that what they most feared, and 
had most reason to fear, was that, in some way, the ecclesias- 
tical government of England, with its bishops' courts and 
bishops' prisons, its High Commission for causes ecclesiasti-- 
cal, and its whol^ body of canon law, would follow them into 
their retreat and be obtruded upon their plantation in this 



158 

wilderness ; and we can understand why it was that those 
planters, in full assembly, without a dissenting vote, resolved 
that none but members of the church which they were form- 
ing, or of other approved churches, should participate in the 
government of their plantation. 

Such then was the relation of the Congregational churches 
to the beginning of civil government in this part of Connec- 
ticut. A company of religious men came hither for the ex- 
press purpose of being at liberty to "gather and order" 
churches — not according to act of Parliament, nor according 
to the will of the High Commission Court, nor under the 
royal supremacy of Charles, Supreme Head on earth of the 
Church of England, but — under the supremacy of Christ 
alone, and according to " those rules which the Scripture 
holds forth," — or, more exactly, which the Scripture, in their 
devout study of its rules and precedents, did hold forth to 
them. Therefore they declared in full assembly, unanimously, 
that " they held themselves bound to establish such civil or- 
der as might best conduce to the securing of the purity and 
peace of the ordinances \i. e. of Christian worship and com- 
munion], to themselves and their posterity," God's word in 
Scripture being the rule and warrant. 

Well, what sort of a civil government did they establish } 
Just the simplest that would serve their purpose, — a govern- 
ment in which (notwithstanding the known preferences of 
the lords and knights who held the Earl of Warwick's patent) 
there were to be no hereditary distinctions of rank or 
power, — a government in which every man might partake, with 
no other qualification than personal character and professed 
loyalty to the chief end of the plantation, attested by the 
suffrages of his friends and neighbors admitting him, at 
his own request, to their communion. First, there was a 
"general court," beginning with the seven who had been 
chosen by all the free-planters for " the foundation work" in 
church and state, and increased from time to time by the ad- 
mission of all who being qualified according to " the funda- 
mental agreement," were willing to share in the responsibility. 
Then there was a subordinate court, consisting of a "magis- 



159 

trate" — not governor — and four "deputies," all chosen an- 
nually by " the general court," the duty of the deputies being 
"to assist the magistrate in all courts called by him for the 
occasions of the plantation." 

It was under these forms that civil government began in 
the plantations which were, not long afterwards, combined as 
the New Haven colony, adopting as the organic law of their 
combination, a written constitution resembling in its provis- 
ions that of the sister colony on the river, yet differing from 
it by rigorously maintaining the rule that political power, in 
the several towns and in the general jurisdiction over them, 
should be entrusted only to members " of the approved 
churches in New PZngland." 

In that first age, then, the relation of the Congregational 
churches to civil government was so close that both the merit 
and the demerit of the latter, in either of the two colonies, 
must be ascribed to the former. Civil government, whether 
on the river or on the sound, was instituted for the Congre- 
gational churches, and by their members. Constitutions were 
framed, laws were enacted, all the administration of civil 
affairs was determined, not indeed by the churches in church- 
meetings, but by members of the churches acting as mem- 
bers of the State. If the constitution of the river colony 
was liberal, far in advance of the age, let that merit be as- 
cribed to the churches there, and to their ministers, and pre- 
eminently to the renowned pastor of Hartford, Thomas 
Hooker, — than whom no more illustrious mind came from 
the mother country to the colonization of New England. If 
the "fundamental agreement" at New Haven guarded too 
carefully, and therefore mistakenly, the freedom of the 
churches, let the blame of that over-carefulness rest on those 
churches, and primarily on that pastor, John Davenport, who 
swayed by his imperial force of mind not only the New 
Haven church, but the others also. 

Yet let the fact be observed that, so long as the New 
Haven jurisdiction continued, there was no meddling of the 
civil government in matters properly ecclesiastical. Nor do 
we find any trace of inability in the churches of that juris- 



i6o 

diction to manage their own affairs. We find, indeed, that 
by the organic law of the- "combination" of towns under 
a common government, it was "agreed and concluded" that 
the General Court " shall with all care and diligence provide 
for the maintenance of the purity of religion, and shall sup- 
press the contrary, according to their best light from the 
word of God, and all wholesome and sound advice which 
shall be given by the elders and churches in the jurisdiction, 
so far as may concern their civil power to deal therein!'^ But 
in the code of the river colony, it is more explicitly, and more 
sweepingly, "ordered and decreed," that "the civil authority 
here established hath power and liberty to see the peace ordi- 
nances and rules of Christ be observed in every church, ac- 
cording to his word ; as also to deal with any church mem- 
ber in a way of civil justice, notwithstanding any church re- 
lation, office, or interest, so it be done in a civil and not in an 
ecclesiastical way : nor shall any church censure, degrade, or 
depose any man from any civil dignity, office, or authority he 
shall have in the commonwealth."! Observe the difference. 
In both colonies, there is conceded to the State a certain 
guardianship over religious interests, but differently defined. 
In New Haven, it is made the duty of the General Court to 
protect the great interest of pure Christianity, not only seek- 
ing " light from the word of God," — the rule in all proceed- 
ings, but also considering "all wholesome and sound advice" 
from "the elders and churches in the jurisdiction." In the 
river colony, on the other hand, there is another theory of 
what the State may do in church affairs. *' The civil author- 
ity here established," hath power and liberty not only " to deal 
with any church member in a way of civil justice," — nor only 
to provide that no church censure shall have any civil effect 
or consequence ; but also to superintend the churches as such 
in their administration of their own affairs, and to see that 
" every church " observes " the ordinances and rules of 
Christ ;" — and the power of determining finally and without 
appeal what are " the ordinances and rules of Christ accord- 
ing to his word," is not left in the churches, each reading and 

*N. H. Col. Records, i, 115. t Conn. Col. Records,!, 524, 525. 



i6i 

interpreting for itself, but is lodged, unequivocally, in the civil 
authority, quite independently of " wholesome and sound ad- 
vice" from any quarter. How this responsibility of the 
churches to " the civil authority " was understood in the Con- 
necticut of those days is abundantly illustrated from the 
records of that colony. 

As early as 1644, an excommunicated member of the 
church in Hartford brings his petition to the General Court 
for relief ; and instead of being informed that no civil authority 
is competent to such a business, he is told " that he ought to 
bring into the court the particulars of his accusation that the 
church of Hartford may give answer thereto."* Such, at 
that time, " was the relation of the Congregational churches 
of Connecticut to civil government," that the Hartford 
church, with Thomas Hooker for pastor, and Samuel Stone 
for teacher, was made defendant in a civil court on an appeal 
from its censure of excommunication. Just such tutelage of 
the churches by the civil authority marks the history of Con- 
necticut for more than a hundred years from its beginning. 
Church difficulties seem to have come, almost as a matter of 
course, under the cognizance of the General Court ; and 
Queen Elizabeth herself, in her time, could hardly have been 
Supreme Head of the Church of England, more completely 
than that General Court assumed to be supreme over all the 
churches within its territorial jurisdiction. The semi-Eras- 
tian episcopate of the civil authority over the churches col- 
lectively, and over every church particularly, was constantly 
pernicious. 

Wethersfield had its church quarrel which seems to have 
been aggravated by civil interference till it rent the town 
asunder. Windsor had its church quarrel, and the General 
Court meddled and mediated to no good end. Hartford had 
its church quarrel, which, under the care and meddlesome- 
ness of the General Court, grew worse and worse till the church 
was rent in twain. Before the suppression of the New Ha- 
ven jurisdiction in 1664, there was already in Connecticut a 
strong and growing party determined to subvert the purely 

* Conn. Col. Records, i, 106, iii. 
21 



t62 

Congregational constitution of the churches, and to establish 
in place of it that Old-World system which Davenport called 
" the parish way," — a system which substitutes the territorial 
parish for the covenanted church, and invests the parish min- 
ister with a sort of lordship over the brotherhood. Whether 
the contending parties knew it or not, the bottom question in 
those church controversies which agitated the Connecticut 
colony and gave the General Court so much trouble, seems to 
have been, in reality, the question between the old-England 
parish way and the Congregational way of the Pilgrims. It 
had not yet been found out in that colony — and indeed some 
good men even now seem not to know — that if a Congrega- 
tional church does not govern itself it can not be governed at 
all; and therefore the General Court, instead of being dis- 
couraged by the ill success of one experiment after another, 
went on usurping more and more of jurisdiction over eccle- 
siastical concerns. It was that growing Erastianism in Con- 
necticut — that intermeddling of the state with the church — 
that increasing proclivity toward " the parish way," — which 
broke down the courage of Davenport, when, in his declining 
age, he saw his own colony absorbed by Connecticut, and 
these churches on the sound, which till then had been undis- 
turbed in their self-government, brought under the tutelage 
of that civil authority which had managed so badly in attempt- 
ing to govern the churches on the river. This is what he 
was thinking of when he said in his despondency, " Christ's 
interest in New Haven colony is miserably lost." 

I find myself repeating some things which I said years ago 
at the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of our General Asso- 
ciation, and which were printed in the volume of " Contribu- 
tions to the Ecclesiastical History of Connecticut." There- 
fore I will proceed no farther, in this direction, than simply 
to say that, for a long time after the absorption of the New 
Haven colony, the relation of the Congregational churches 
of Connecticut to civil government was subordination and 
subjection. Puritanism, as in the Westminster Assembly, 
exalted itself against Congregationalism. For more than a 
century, the attempt was persistently made to get rid of the 



163 

simple and primitive polity which the Pilgrims brought with 
them from Leyden, which Davenport and Hooker alike had 
defended, and which had been formulated, somewhat crudely, 
in the Cambridge Platform. Even the word "Congrega- 
tional" was dropped and disowned as no longer descriptive 
of the Connecticut church polity. Yet that subjection of the 
churches to " the civil authority here established," was by no 
means a quiet subjection; for (and let us be thankful that it is 
so), so long as a church retains any of the forms of Congre- 
gationalism with anything of the spirit which deduced those 
forms from the Scriptures, — so long as it derives its right of 
self-government directly from Christ — so long it will be un- 
quiet under any attempt to govern it by outside authority 
whether civil or ecclesiastical. Accordingly the civil gov- 
ernment of Connecticut found by long and laborious experi- 
ence, that its assumed episcopate over the churches of Con- 
necticut was by no means a sinecure. It would be a ludi- 
crous story, and yet a sad one, if I should tell what trouble 
the Honorable Assembly had in its "care of all the church- 
es." There were conflicts about the right of admission to 
sacramental privileges — conflicts about the authority of pas- 
tors to rule and overrule the brotherhood — conflicts prior to 
the Saybrook Platform, and worse conflicts under the Say- 
brook Platform — conflicts between large minorities and small 
majorities about the settlement of ministers; and every such 
conflict was deemed a fit occasion for the interference of the 
civil government. The meddlesome interference in such 
cases continued, and proceeded from bad to worse, till at last 
it became intolerable, and the genius of Congregationalism, 
reviving in the great religious revival, began to reassert itself. 
Meanwhile successive steps of legislation had been unwit- 
tingly preparing the way for the emancipation of the 
churches. 

At first there were no known dissenters from the estab^ 
lished, or (as we say) Congregational, churches. Forty years 
after the beginning of the colony, the only pronounced dis- 
senters were "four or five Seventh-day men, and about so 
many more Quakers." But in 1707 there began to be in 



164 

Stratford a society professing conformity to the Church of 
England ; and, the next year, it was provided by law, in imi- 
tation of the English statute (1689) that "such persons as 
soberly dissent from the way of worship and ministry estab- 
lished by the laws " might maintain public worship in their 
own way. This was the first concession, by law, to liberty of 
worship in Puritan Connecticut — a concession to adherents 
of the English establishment, whose society at Stratford was 
the first attempt to organize dissent within the limits of the 
colony. From this beginning there was progress in the con- 
cession of liberty to one denomination after another of dis- 
senters from the established order — to Church-of -England 
men, to Baptists, and to Quakers ; though Congregational- 
ism, meanwhile, was rigorously held in with bit and bridle by 
the civil government. The story of the measures taken by 
the legislature and magistracy of Connecticut, to regulate the 
" disorders " connected with, or consequent upon, the Great 
Awakening, is simply disgraceful. Nor was the effect on 
religious interests any better than the effort of similar at- 
tempts elsewhere and in other ages. The enthusiasm of the 
" Separates " — as they were called, who withdrew from the 
worship and ministry established bylaw, and fell back on the 
"strict Congregationalism" of the original Separatists from 
the Church of England — became more extravagant, and their 
disorders more conscientious, under the policy which at- 
tempted to suppress them by civil power. At last, by the 
irresistible tendency of a vital force in the State and in the 
churches, — at last, I say, but not completely till within the 
present century — the Congregational churches were freed 
from the civil episcopate that had so long embarrassed them. 
Now, at last, we may say without contradiction from any 
quarter, that the polity of our Connecticut churches is identi- 
cal with the polity of the New England churches ; and that 
their Congregational self-government is essentially the same 
with that which was expounded by Hooker and Davenport — 
essentially the same with that for which the martyrs under 
Queen Elizabeth were hanged. 

Yet, through all the period from the union of the colonies 



165 

to the Declaration of Independence (i lo years), the influence 
of the churches on civil government was as great as the in- 
fluence of civil government on the churches, and was far 
more beneficial. Indeed, it would be difficult to discriminate 
between the life of the churches, through all that period, and 
the life of the State with which they were so closely con- 
nected. The influence by which public opinion on all great 
questions was formed and directed, came from the churches 
under the leadership of their ministry. In every town, the 
men of chief weight and influence were ordinarily the leading 
men in the church, and were always in relations of intimacy 
with the minister. Every Governor in either colony before 
the union, and afterwards every Governor in the united 
colony down to the year i8i i, was in his own town a member 
of the church in full communion. As in the days of Thomas 
Hooker, so afterwards, it was from the pulpit — on Sabbath- 
days and lecture-days, and especially on fast-days and thanks- 
giving-days, but most eminently on election-days — that men 
heard what stimulated and guided their thinking on public 
affairs. They were taught, from God's word, that he who 
hath made of one blood all nations of men, is no respecter of 
persons, Caesar in purple and the beggar in rags being equal 
before him the Judge of all ; that the relation between the 
powers that are by the providence of God, and the people 
subject to those powers, is a relation of reciprocal duty ; and 
that, as the church is not for the minister, but the minister 
for the church, so every civil ruler — whether king or gov- 
ernor — whether a justice of the peace in some frontier settle- 
ment, or a chief-justice in Westminster Hall — is for the 
commonwealth, and not the commonwealth for him. Cer- 
tain practical inferences from such principles were easily 
made when the cloud of threatened usurpation began to rise 
over the sea ; for though the cloud seemed at first no bigger 
than a man's hand, it was even then, to the instructed eye, 
portentous of a flood that would sweep away all the foun- 
dations of just government. It was not difficult for men of 
common sense — New England men — who revered their pas- 
tor, not for his priestly ephod, nor for his awful wig, nor for 



i66 

some ineffable quality supposed to be imparted by the touch 
of apostolic hands, but only " for his work's sake," his personal 
fitness for his work and his fidelity in it, — to infer that the 
king himself was to be honored, not for his crown and jeweled 
scepter, nor for his royal robes, nor yet for his " blue blood " 
and his descent " from loins enthroned " of other ages, nor for 
the mysterious " divinity that doth hedge a king," — but only 
for his " work's sake." From that position another inference 
was easy : If George III, in violation of God's law, in violation 
of charters and of the laws which made him king, is faithless 
to his appointed work — if, instead of protecting his subjects 
from injustice, he lends his power to schemes for their op- 
pression — the loyalty due to him for his work's sake, is no 
longer due, and the fundamental compact between him and 
them is broken by his fault. The relation of the Congregational 
churches of Connecticut to civil government at the time when 
American liberty was to be secured by the achievement of 
American independence, appears in the well-known fact that 
of the few Tories in Connecticut, there were almost none who 
had not been trained for a while under a very different minis- 
tration of religion. 

I forbear to speak of the service done to the cause of 
American liberty by individual pastors of these churches, in 
the few years next preceding the Declaration of Independ- 
ence. The time forbids me to speak of what was done, from 
the pulpit and through the press, by Stephen Johnson of 
Lyme, by Ebenezer Baldwin of Danbury, by Nathan Strong of 
Hartford, by James Dana of Wallingford, by Levi Hart of 
Preston, and by others. Let it suffice that the associated 
ministers of our Congregational churches have taken upon 
themselves in the General Association the duty of commem- 
orating those services. 

Other topics were included in the subject assigned to me 
for this occasion. But I must pass by them, with only the 
briefest notice. 

Why need I expatiate on the historic relation of our 
churches " to popular education } " Such was the connection 
between the churches and the State that, from the beginning 



167 

of our history, our common schools, so fundamental to the 
new civilization that was planted here, were in reality church 
schools. The earliest legislation concerning them, whether 
in the river colony or in the New Haven colony, announces a 
religious, a Christian, a Protestant motive for establishing 
and maintaining them. Where there was a church for all 
the people, not to have schools for all the children was an 
absurdity. The minister in every town or parish was of 
course, and indeed by the stress of necessity, superintendent of 
the schools in that town or parish. When towns were 
divided into ecclesiastical societies for the support of public 
worship, the support of public schools was also a function 
of the ecclesiastical society ; and in every school there was 
the reading of the Bible and the recitation of the catechism. 

Such, through all the years till 1776, was the relation of 
these churches to popular education in the limited sense. 
But if we take the phrase in its broader sense, as including 
not only the instruction which every child is expected to re- 
ceive, but also a more advanced instruction, provided either 
by municipalities or by public institutions for all who aspire 
to higher degrees of knowledge, we find the same influence 
of the churches and their ministers in whatever was at- 
tempted for the Commonwealth in the way of higher and 
liberal education — the education of youth " for public service 
in church or state." The oldest institution of learning in 
Connecticut is the Hopkins Grammar School, which owes its 
existence not simply to the benefactor whose name it bears, 
but even more to the first pastor of the First Church in New 
Haven. So the " collegiate school," which was begun one 
hundred and seventy-six years ago, and which is now our 
famous University, owes its existence not to the man whose 
name it has immortalized, but to those ministers of "the 
Congregational churches of Connecticut" who, as representing 
these churches and their ministry, became in fact and law its 
founders, and whose successors remain to this day its char- 
tered guardians. 

Yet these historical allusions are by no means an adequate 
representation of what our churches have done — still less of 



1 68 

what they ought to have done for " popular education." A 
Congregational church (and this is true, in one degree or an- 
other, of all true churches) is itself an educating institution, 
a school for the people — not for its communicants only and 
their children, but for all the households gathered into its 
weekly assemblies ; nay, for all the people within the reach 
of its influence as a local institution. We talk about Sunday- 
schools, and in these days they are doing much for popular 
education. Before 1776 there were no Sunday-schools in 
the modern and technical sense. But is not a Congregational 
church, itself, a Sunday-school in the broadest and highest 
meaning of that phrase ? Is not some degree of intelligence 
in its members — some familiarity with that old and unique 
collection of books, the Bible — a primary condition of its ex- 
istence ? Is not every member of it required to have some 
knowledge of the highest themes of human thought ? Is not 
its ministry a teaching ministry.'' Its worship — the mode of 
worship in Congregational and Puritan churches — has been 
censured for the lack of ritual pomp ; no priestly vestments 
of divers colors ; no surpliced choirs with antiphonal chant- 
ing ; no mediaeval architecture with long-drawn aisle and 
fretted roof ; no stage-effect of slow processions moving to 
solemn music ; no pictured saints in " storied windows richly 
dight ; " no crucifix or gilded cross toward which the eye may 
turn in prayer ; no attempt to move the religious sensibility 
through the bodily senses, or otherwise than by thought ex- 
pressed in words. We acknowledge the fact, and God forbid 
that we should try to get rid of it. Our public worship, as 
our fathers worshiped in their churches, was not sensuous, 
not histrionic, but such as is best described by the Apostle's 
phrase, translated, *' reasonable service," (XoyiKrj Xarpela) — 
rational or thinking worship — the sort of worship which is 
rendered not by the bended knee alone, nor by words alone 
mechanically or melodiously recited, — but by the mind in 
the exercise of its intelligent powers. In public worship 
thus conducted, the congregation is trained to a thoughtful 
habit, not less thoughtful for being reverent and devout. I 
say, therefore, that the church, in its Sabbath assembly, 



169 

under its teaching ministry, the church, praying, witnessing, 
and following on to know the Lord, is a school for the peo- 
ple, old and young, and is, by its very nature, one of the most 
efficient agencies in the work of popular education. Let the 
history of Connecticut in the early days when barbarism was 
the first danger, and through the colonial period — let the 
character with which its almost unanimous people (already 
republican for a hundred and forty years) entered upon the 
career of our national independence, testify to the capability 
of churches as institutions for the education of the people. 

It remains for me to say something about the relation of 
the Congregational churches, in this Commonwealth, to 
" social reforms," before 1776. But what shall I say .? What 
do we mean by " social reforms " in the plural } Had the 
phrase been put in the singular number, I should have under 
stood it to mean the progressive reformation of society in 
respect to morality, bringing the sentiments and the habits 
of society nearer continually to the Christian ideal. That is 
just what the churches and their ministry were trying to do, 
according to their light, through all the generations of the 
period which we are reviewing. I do not find that there had 
ever been a conception of reforms conducted by specialists 
or of reforming societies and conventions, each with its one 
idea, and each agitating for its own specialty. When a pastor 
saw in his parish a prevalent or growing immorality, he could 
not send for a specialist to come and do his work for him ; 
but it was his duty, and a necessity was laid upon him, to 
hold up the light of God's word as bearing on that immor- 
ality, and so to demand and effect the needed reformation. 
Whenever a church found, in anybody subject to its disci- 
pline, a definite violation of God's law, it was the duty of that 
church to testify against the wrong, by censure demanding 
penitent confession. Doubtless, pastors were sometimes de- 
ficient in courage, and sometimes slow in the discernment 
of evils to be rebuked ; doubtless churches were sometimes 
slack, and sometimes indiscreet in their treatment of scan- 
dals ; but there is no room to doubt that, on the whole, the 
churches with their teaching ministry were faithful to their 

22 



I/O 

calling as conservators of whatsoever things are true, honest, 
just, pure, lovely, of good report. Whatever may have been 
the need of " social reform," in one department of morality 
and another, a hundred years ago, we may challenge the 
world to show anywhere else, at that time, a people equally 
numerous, whose moral sentiments and moral habits were 
nearer to the Christian ideal, than were those habits and sen- 
timents which the people of Connecticut had learned under 
the influence of Congregational churches. We trust that 
in some things we are better than they were. Oh, that our 
descendants, a hundred years hence, may be in all things as 
much better than we are ! 



P. S. On page i6i, the difference between Puritanism and Congregational- 
ism is adverted to. In illustration of that difference, see " Genesis of the New 
England Churches," chapters v and vii. The allusion, on page 164, to " the 
Martyrs under Queen Elizabeth," is explained in chapters viii and ix of the 
same work. 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE 

DELIVERED AT NEW HAVEN, NOV. 15, 1876. 
BEFORE THE 

GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES 

OF CONNECTICUT. 

BY REV. MYRON N. MORRIS. 



At a meeting of the General Conference at Norwich, Nov. 9, 1875, 
the Standing Committee recommended, in relation to the national Cen- 
tennial, among other things, — 

" That at the General Conference of 1876, two historical discourses 
be delivered, on successive evenings, referring, in part at least, to the 
relations of the Congregational Churches of Connecticut to the civil 
government, and to popular education and social reforms. One of these 
discourses to cover the period preceding the Declaration of Independ- 
ence ; the other, the period subsequent to that event ; — and that the 
appointments for these services be made by ballot during the meeting 
of this Conference." 

In accordance with this recommendation. Rev. Leonard Bacon, D. D., 
was chosen to deliver the first of the centennial discourses, and ReV. 
Myron N. Morris to deliver the second. 



The Ecclesiastical system, and the system of civil govern* 
ment which our fathers adopted, were the natural outgrowth 
of the deep sentiments of their hearts. They thoroughly 
believed that God was the supreme Ruler of men, that he 
was the source of all rightful authority among men, and that 
civil government, ordained of him, derived its just powers 
from his sanction. 



1/2 

They believed that every individual was personally responsi- 
ble to God, and consequently had an inalienable right to 
worship and serve him according to his own convictions of 
duty. 

They held that in the formation of churches, the conferring 
of good upon individuals was sought, and not upon the organ- 
izations themselves as an end, and that all church authority 
was vested in the brotherhood, to be exercised, with their 
consent, by the officers appointed by themselves. 

They recognized also, in a general way, the universal broth- 
erhood of man, the fact that Christ died for all men, and 
commanded his disciples to go into all the world and preach 
the gospel to every creature. 

In the application of these principles, they were influenced 
more or less by the ideas that prevailed in the age in which 
they lived. 

Our fathers, holding such ideas, naturally adopted a civil 
government that was in accordance with them. So that their 
ecclesiastical and their civil polity, having taken form from 
the same ideas, were closely related to each other, almost 
blended in their design and sphere of action. The ministers 
were regarded as sustaining a quasi official relation to the 
divinely sanctioned government, and the civil rulers, knowing 
that religion was essential to the welfare of society, consid- 
ered it their proper function to exercise a care over the 
churches. The civil authority convened councils to settle 
difficulties in the churches, and the assembled ministers con- 
sulted and gave counsel as to the best methods of managing 
the affairs of state. 

One hundred years ago, most of the people of Connecticut 
v/ere Congregationalists, and this was the leading denomina- 
tion in the country. In 1774, the inhabitants belonging to 
the Colony were 198,010, of whom 6,562 were colored. De- 
ducting 1,922 living in Westmoreland, Penn., then claimed 
as belonging to Connecticut, we have 196,088 within the 
present limits of the State. There were one hundred and 
eighty-eight Congregational churches, not including the Sep- 
arate, or Strict Congregational churches. According to an 



^7?> 

estimate made in 1774, by the Rev. Elizur Goodrich of Dur- 
ham, about one to thirteen in the colony were Episcopalians. 
There were a few Baptist churches, but the first Methodist 
church was not formed till 1789. 

In those days, more exclusively than now, the meeting- 
house was the center of intellectual culture and general 
information. In all the country there was not a single daily 
newspaper, and but few weeklies, and not more than seventy- 
five post-offices. By a recent mail arrangement (made in 
1774) a Bostonian could write to Philadelphia and receive an 
answer in three weeks, the year round, whereas formerly, in 
winter, it had required six weeks. In the scarcity of books 
and periodical literature, and the absence of scientific and 
literary lectures, the people gathered at the sanctuary, to 
look upon each other's faces, talk over important matters, and 
to be instructed in things pertaining to this life, and that 
which is to come, by the minister, who, almost without excep- 
tion, was a man of liberal culture, wide intelligence, and high 
authority in all matters of opinion and practice. 

In the struggle for independence, therefore, in which the 
colonies were then engaged, the Congregational ministers of 
Connecticut were prominent. With them it was a matter of 
more than patriotic interest, — it was a sacred cause. The 
grand object for which hardships, and perils, and losses had 
been endured in settling these shores and maintaining the 
settlements, — the establishment of civil and religious liberty, 
the setting up of the kingdom of Christ in this land, was at 
stake. 

See then, in 1765, when the people of Connecticut seemed 
too inattentive to the dangers which were likely to follow the 
Stamp Act, and the magistrates were almost inclined to yield 
obedience, the Rev. Stephen Johnson of Lyme, publishing 
vigorous essays to arouse them to a sense of their danger. 
Gordon says: ''The Congregational ministers saw further 
into the designs of the British Administration, and by their 
publications and conversations increased and strengthened 
the opposition." See the Rev. Levi Hart of Preston, a man 
full of the spirit of missions in that early period as well as 



174 

of patriotism, in 1774, preaching " on liberty to the Corpora- 
tion of Freemen in Farmington," taking occasion also to 
strike a blow at the African slave-trade. And the same year, 
the Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin of Danbury, also full of mission- 
ary zeal, publishing an address to arouse the people in the 
western part of the Colony, and preaching on occasions to the 
same end. See the Rev. Jeremiah Day of New Preston 
relinquishing a part of his small salary, " being willing," as 
he says, " to contribute my proportion towards the public 
expenses, and to encourage the glorious cause in which 
we are engaged." Hear the Rev. Elizur Goodrich of Dur- 
ham, with impassioned eloquence, urging the sacrifice of 
property and life as a most imperative religious duty. And 
the Rev. Judah Champion of Litchfield, in his Election ser- 
mon. May, 1776, from Gal. 5 : i — " Methinks we may this day 
well-nigh see the ghosts of our departed progenitors ; and hear 
those blessed worthies, in solemn accents, through the vast 
of heaven, addressing us, saying, ' Stand fast in the liberty 
wherewith Christ hath made you free.' At the inestima- 
ble price of his blood, the glorious Redeemer purchased these 
blessings for his people. Through rivers of blood, and great 
tribulation, we have been made the instruments of handing 
these down to you. * * Nor can you wantonly throw them 
away without incurring Jehovah's most tremendous indigna- 
tion and curse. God, angels, and saints in glory all looking 
on. * * Trust in God, and firmly defy every danger. Let 
the blood of Christ animate you. * * Heaven demands 
your most vigorous exertions." 

Such was the spirit of the Congregational ministers through- 
out the Colony. Pastors in large numbers went into the army 
and served as chaplains, or in other capacities, for longer or 
shorter periods. 

And the people were ready to respond. From long prac- 
tice in the war with the French and Indians, they had become 
very efficient in military service. In securing the independ- 
ence of the colonies, Connecticut did her full share. She 
furnished 31,959 regular soldiers, nearly one-sixth of the 



175 

whole population,* and expended over twenty millions of 
dollars, not including what was paid by towns and individuals ; 
of which, however, the general government refunded some- 
thing less than two and a half millions. No colony was more 
influential in the general government than Connecticut, and 
none furnished an executive officer more relied on by Wash- 
ington in great emergencies than her own governor, Jonathan 
Trumbull. 

Such, in the early years of our national existence, was the 
practical relation of the Congregational ministers and churches 
of Connecticut to the civil government. 

These churches constituted the " standing order " in the 
State, were recognized and supported by law, and their influ- 
ence in civil affairs was all-controlling. 

Towards the close of the century, when churches of other 
denominations began to multiply, and in the low state of 
religion, infidelity and irreligion became more bold and wide- 
spread, there arose a strong opposition to the dominant party. 
The feeling against the Congregational ministers was bitter. 
It was claimed that they designated the men to fill the offices, 
that those outside of the standing order were excluded from 
office, and that even before the courts they had not an equal 
chance for justice. The controversy waxed more and more 
fierce, until the different interests in the opposition became 
united in what was called the Toleration Party, which, in 
1817, carried the election. The next year a constitution was 
adopted, which placed all the churches alike upon the vol- 
untary principle for support. 

* This does not include a large number in the service who remained at home 
to defend our own towns. 

"The male population of the Colony, in 1775, from sixteen to fifty years of 
age, were subject to military duty, and may be estimated, from a careful exam- 
ination of the census of 1774, to amount to about twenty-six thousand persons. 
Of these there were nearly one thousand beyond the Delaware, and near two 
thousand disaffected persons, so that the whole military force in the compact 
settled part of the colony, that could be relied on for its defense, did not much 
exceed twenty-three thousand men." (Connecticut in the War of the Revolu- 
tion, by Royal R. Hinman, p. 12.) 

Can it be possible that Connecticut furnished for the war a greater number 
than all the male inhabitants from sixteen to fifty years of age ? 



176 

This was lamented by many as destructive of the very 
foundations of religion, and as opening wide the flood-gates 
of iniquity. Dr. Lyman Beecher afterwards said, "The in- 
jury done to the cause of Christ, as we then supposed, was 
irreparable. For several days I suffered what no tongue can 
tell for the best thing that ever happened to the State of Con- 
necticut. It cut the churches loose from dependence on 
State support. It threw them wholly on their own resources 
and on God." The prosperity of the churches and their 
power for good have been vastly increased. 

The influence of the Congregational churches, as of those 
of other denominations, on the civil government is now indi- 
rect. They teach what they believe to be the whole range of 
Christian duty. They endeavor to inspire men with a sense 
of justice, reverence for law, a regard for the rights of indi- 
viduals, and a feeling of responsibility to God for all human 
actions, and to lead them to purity of heart and life in the 
sight of God. They aim to secure a right government by 
making the people right. 

And if, under the doctrine of equal political rights and 
universal suffrage, Roman Catholics, Pagans, Mohammedans, 
Jews, and Infidels, should come to be a majority, there would 
still be the mighty Christian influence of these churches to 
uphold the right. And any political demagogue who should 
desire to carry his selfish ends by appeals to the ignorance or 
passions, or prejudices of the people, or by any corrupt 
methods, would have little success among such people as are 
trained under the influence of the Congregational churches 
of Connecticut. 

Whether our civil government is, or ought to be a Christian 
government in form or not, the influence of the churches 
ought to make it the government of a Christian people. 

To provide for the education of the children has ever been 
regarded by our churches as of prime importance. To secure 
the safety of our free institutions, it is recognized as the duty 
of the State to see that all the children are sufficiently edu- 
cated to enable them to act as intelligent citizens. Precisely 



177 

how far the State should carry this education is still an open 
question. And whether, with such varied religious senti- 
ments among the people, it should attempt more than a 
strictly secular education, is one of the difficult problems yet 
to be solved. But a high degree of moral culture, and not 
unfavorable to religion, may be secured in purely secular 
schools. 

Wherever Congregational churches have been planted and 
have taken root, there public schools have never failed to spring 
up and flourish. Sectarian schools for primary education have 
not been in favor with the people of our congregations. 

But the influence of our churches in the line of popular 
education is first and most powerfully felt in our Christian 
homes. Here, in the tender care and sympathy- and prayers 
of a mother's love, in the firm but gentle guidance of a father's 
hand, in the daily worship, in the commingling of joys and 
sorrows, in the examples of wisdom and patience, and the 
needed counsels and self-denials of life, in an atmosphere all- 
pervading and high-charged with love and intelligence, work 
silently and ceaselessly those powerful forces that bring out 
the blessed results of Christian nurture. In our Christian 
families, in connection with our schools and churches, are 
formed those traits which characterize the people of New 
England, and especially of Connecticut, wherever they go. 
The world will never know how much it owes to the New 
England mothers for training the noble men and women who 
have been benefactors to the race. 

Turning now to the spiritual condition of the churches, we 
find that from the time of the great revival, about 1740, to 
near the end of the century, there was a continual decline. 
For many years the people were occupied with the burdens 
and vexations of the French and Indian war. Soon after 
commenced the troubles with England which led to the Revo- 
lution, and it was nearly eighteen years before peace was de- 
clared. During all this period little could be thought of but the 
political agitations and the terrible scenes and fearful uncer- 
tainties of the protracted conflict. The churches and all the 

23 



1/8 

people felt the demoralizing effects of the war, for, however 
necessary or just, war is always demoralizing. French infi- 
delity became fashionable, especially among people of culture 
and influence. Intemperance, licentiousness, and profanity, 
were common, and the people, harassed by debts and heavy 
taxation, and eager to avail themselves of the commercial 
advantages that followed the war, gave little heed to the inter- 
ests of the soul. 

Meanwhile, death had made inroads upon the churches, 
until there were but few members, and these mostly advanced 
in age. 

Another prominent cause of the religious decline was the 
practice of receiving members upon the half-way covenant. 
The effect of this was to bring into the churches numbers 
who would rest contented in that half-way attitude, short of 
the renewal of their hearts by the Holy Spirit. A further 
effect was to lower the standard of admission, so that whether 
it was believed that unrenewed persons might become mem- 
bers of the church, and come to the communion as a convert- 
ing ordinance, or not, many churches fell into the loose 
practice of receiving members without inquiry respecting 
their religious experience. Some pastors deemed such inquiry 
improper. Thus it happened that of the few aged members 
of the churches, a portion, probably, knew nothing of a saving 
change. And possibly some of the ministers were in the 
same condition. Is it strange that in such circumstances 
spiritual religion should almost die out .'' 

And yet it did not die out. During all that dark period, 
there was probably not a spot on earth where spiritual religion 
was more alive than in the Congregational churches of Con- 
necticut, 

The theological controversies in these churches during the 
period we are considering, deserve notice here. And I refer 
to them, not to give even an outline of the discussions, but as 
illustrating, first, the educational effect of such discussions, 
awakening thought, and making theologians of all the people ; 
secondly, the fact that good men, equally intelligent and loyal 
to God and his truth, will inevitably differ in relation to 



179 

some points of doctrine ; and thirdly, the tendency in these 
good men to magnify the differences, and to denounce each 
other as teaching dangerous error, and therefore being 
dangerous men. 

The reUgious indifference that prevailed in the early part of 
• the last century, the general feeling that men could do noth- 
ing but use the means of grace and wait for God to convert 
them, demanded a fresh examination and re-statement of 
theological truth in connection with the principles of sound 
philosophy. Such examination and re-statement were made 
by Jonathan Edwards ; and thus arose what was called the 
Edwardean Theology, or New Divinity, or, as termed in after 
years, New England Theology. Some of the leading preach- 
ers of the New Divinity were President Edwards, Samuel 
Hopkins, Joseph Bellamy, Stephen West, John Smalley, Na- 
thaniel Emmons, Samuel Spring, Levi Hart, Jonathan Ed- 
wards the younger, Nathan Strong, and Timothy Dwight, 
all, except Dr. Spring, Connecticut men, either by birth or 
by having exercised some portion of their ministry in the 
State. Hopkins wrought out a system of divinity, introduc- 
ing some peculiarities of his own. Emmons was an ad- 
vocate of the " Exercise Scheme," in opposition to Asa 
Burton, also raised up in Connecticut, a leading advocate of 
the " Taste Scheme." 

The New Divinity men did not generally adopt all the pe- 
culiarities of Hopkins or Emmons, yet they were often indis* 
criminately called Hopkinsians. They were Calvinistic in 
doctrine, earnest men, friends of revivals, and characterized by 
the distinctness and pungency of their preaching, making 
prominent the Divine sovereignty, and the free-agency of sinful 
man, and pressing men with the duty of immediate repentance •; 
or, as some of them preferred to put it, submission to God. 
These were the men who stood firmly for spiritual religion, 
— for the life of Christ in the soul which is born only of the 
Holy Spirit, in distinction from all kinds of outward observ- 
ances. Their preaching prepared the way for the revivals 
that commenced near the close of the century. 

As to the number of such ministers, and the prevalence of 



i8o 

their doctrines, Prof. Fisher remarks in the appendix to his 
History of the Church in Yale College : " The election of 
Dr. Dwight to the Presidency of Yale College, marked the 
triumph in New England of the Edwardean theology. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Hopkins, there were, in 1756, 'not more than 
four or five who espoused the sentiments which have since 
been called Edwardean or New Divinity ; and since, after 
some improvement was made upon them, Hopkintonian or 
Hopkinsian sentiments.' {Park's Life of Hopkins^ p. 23.) 
In 1773, they had increased to forty or fifty. In 1777, under 
date of Nov. 7, we find the following passage in Dr. Stiles' 
diary : * Rev. Mr. Edwards of New Haven, tells me there 
are three parties in Connecticut all pleased with my election, 
viz: Arminians, who, he said were a small party; the New 
Divinity gentlemen, (of whom he said he was called one,) 
who were larger, he said, but still smally and the main body 
of the ministers, which, he said, were Calvinistic' In a letter 
written in 1796, Hopkins informs us that among the advo- 
cates of the New Divinity, were included ' more than one 
hundred in the ministry.' " 

The New Divinity was substantially that which is found in 
Dwight's System of Theology, and, if I do not mistake, it 
came to be generally held by the Congregational churches of 
New England. But something in it created a wide-spread 
alarm among most excellent men in certain quarters. In 
18 16, the Synod of Philadelphia published a circular letter, in 
which they say : " It appears that all the Presbyteries are 
more than commonly alive to the importance of contending 
for the faith once delivered to the saints, and of resisting 
the introduction of Arian, Socinian, Arminian, and Hopkins- 
ian heresies, which are some of the means by which the 
enemy of souls would, if possible, deceive the very elect." 
In the same letter they say : " May the time never come in 
which our Ecclesiastical Courts shall determine that Hopkins- 
ianism and the doctrines of our confession of faith are the 
same thing." 

What was this dangerous Hopkinsianism 1 Who were the 
men that were spreading it to the destruction of souls } Hop- 



i8i 

kins had passed away years before. Emmons was still living, 
past the age of threescore and ten. True, he denied the 
doctrine of Imputation, and held that men became sinners by 
sinning ; but was Emmons, on the whole, a perverter, or a 
promoter of gospel truth .'* Dr. Samuel Spring was living, 
also past seventy, but did he preach dangerous doctrine ? Dr. 
Woods, of Andover, was a Hopkinsian ; was it important to 
warn the churches against him, or the doctrines which he 
taught ? The letter from which I have quoted seems calcu- 
lated to bring suspicion upon New England ministers gener- 
ally. Would such a result have served the interests of 
Christ's kingdom .'* 

Intelligent men, equally devoted to the service of Christ 
and solicitous for the salvation of souls, entirely agreed in the 
essential doctrines of the gospel, and alike earnest to " con- 
tend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints," 
will and mtis^ differ about many speculative points pertaining 
to the doctrines which they hold. Some of these points may 
be of exceeding importance, for all truth is precious. Let 
them discuss these subjects as earnestly as they please, and 
each contend for his own views, but let them be equally care- 
ful of the reputation of each other as brethren beloved, and 
ministers of the Lord Jesus. 

I should apply the same remarks to the more recent con- 
troversy between the Old and New School theologians. I am 
unable to understand why the so-called speculations of the 
New Haven divines were not in the same spirit and of 
the same general character with those of Edwards, and Hop- 
kins, and Emmons ; and with equal sincerity, no doubt, did 
their opponents contend that errors were involved that were 
dangerous to the souls of men. 

But the awakening and educating effect of these discus- 
sions was powerful. Some of us can remember with what 
intense interest every sermon was listened to ; with what 
animation the points of it were discussed in the Bible- class, 
in religious meetings, in the social circle, and in the family. 
The Bible was studied as though life and death depended 
on ascertaining precisely what it teaches. Men, women, and 



l82 

children were engaged in the earnest study of the profoimdest 
mysteries of revelation and of the human mind. 

But are not these speculative errors really dangerous, fore- 
shadowing a lapse into rank heresy ? Did not Unitarianism 
begin in this way ? All error is to be avoided. But good 
men, lovers of God, and of evangelical doctrine, should stand 
together in charity and confidence, assured that the specula- 
tions of such men can never lead far from essential truth, but 
will rather discover truth and expose error, and that the 
errors they hold will, with the men themselves, vanish away. 

Unitarianism in Eastern Massachusetts, if I rightly under- 
stand it, had its origin, not in this way, but in a feeling of 
opposition to the revival. This was intensified by the extrav- 
agancies, the self-righteous and denunciatory spirit and mis- 
guided zeal of some of the promoters of the work, and de- 
veloped at length into a settled hatred of revival measures 
and revival preaching. The ministers and churches in Bos- 
ton and vicinity, favorably situated for frequent intercourse, 
encourasred in each other a distaste for those doctrines most 
commonly presented with a view to the conversion of sinners. 
They did not oppose these doctrines in preaching or discus- 
sion, but passed them over in silence, except in the way of 
sneering allusion. From facility of intercourse with Eng- 
land, they were strengthened in their views from that quar- 
ter. And thus Unitarianism became established in senti- 
ment before its friends were ready to avow it. 

Some men there were, like Dr. Channing, whose pure spir- 
itual lives were a beautiful illustration of the spirit of the 
gospel. But the tendency of the system was the other way. 

The same causes existed in Connecticut, but Calvinistic 
doctrines were more deeply rooted in the minds of the peo- 
ple. As the people were more scattered, the opposition was 
less concentrated. And those who, had they lived in Boston, 
might have become Unitarians, more easily in Connecticut 
became connected with other denominations. The attempt 
in Connecticut to r-estrain the New Light preachers and their 
measures by legislation, had been less potent to suppress the 
spiritual life and energy of the churches, than the refined 
ridicule and contempt employed in Massachusetts. 



i83 

The Consociation of the churches, under the Saybrook 
Platform, which was a compromise between the Presbyterian 
and Congregational elements, may be thought by some to 
have preserved our churches from lapsing into error. But 
this, in my view, is a mistake, except perhaps in a few cases. 
The power of Consociation in Eastern Massachusetts, would 
have been used in support of Unitarianism.* 

The safeguard of our churches against a departure from 
the faith is not to be found in a common creed, as a standard, 
nor in a strong government with authority over the churches, 
but in a faithful ministry, and the spirit of Christ in the 
hearts of the members. 

The assaults of infidelity upon the Bible, have entirely 
changed ground within a few years. But the friends of re- 
vealed truth have no occasion for alarm from the results of 
scientific investigation. For beyond all question, the more 
fully we come to understand God's ** book of nature," and his 
" book of grace," the more clearly we shall see that they are 
in perfect accord. 

After the long season of spiritual declension, there com- 
menced, near the close of the last century, a series of revi- 
vals that turned the tide of infidelity and wickedness, and 
saved the churches from utter desolation. A few of the 
churches had been refreshed about 1784; a larger number, 
about 1797. But in 1799 occurred that remarkable awaken- 
ing which spread over a considerable part of New England, 
and into other portions of the country. Christians were 
quickened, and thousands of the careless awakened and gath- 
ered into the churches. Such instructions were given that 
most of the evils connected with the revival sixty years pre- 
vious were avoided. The religious aspect of Yale College 
was entirely changed. Under the preaching of President 

* The council of the consociation would be likely to represent the views of 
the constituent churches ; and so long as these, or a majority of them, were 
sound in the faith, the power of consociation might be used to exclude hereti- 
cal pastors, — but when the churches themselves have lapsed, it would be exer- 
cised in furtherance of their own errors. 



i84 

Dwight, the infidel philosophy had ceased to be the boast of 
the students, " Not long before the revival of 1802," accord- 
ing to Dr. Baird, " there were only four members of the 
church among the undergraduates." In the course of that 
revival, as stated by the late Dr. Porter of Farmington, " of 
two hundred and thirty in college about one-third were hope- 
fully converted." Since that time a large proportion of the 
students have been professors of religion. 

These precious seasons of refreshing have been of frequent 
occurrence to the present time, and have been a principal 
source of increase in strength and numbers to the churches. 

Respecting the best methods of promoting revivals, there 
have been differences of opinion. The preaching of certain 
doctrines have been wonderfully blessed to this end ; — is this 
sure always to produce the same results ? Protracted meet- 
ings have been attended with special manifestations of the 
Holy Spirit's presence and power ; — will they always prove 
equally effective .'* There was considerable discussion re- 
specting "New Measures," in the days of Nettleton and Fin- 
ney. Both of those men were messengers of salvation to multi- 
tudes of souls ; but will the coming of such men, or the adoption 
of their measures, in all circumstances, be productive of a work 
of grace ? Evangelists have often been employed with the 
happiest results. But a sad day will it be for the churches, 
when they come to rely so far on any special agencies from 
without, as to have little faith in what they themselves can 
accomplish, by the blessing of God, under the guidance of 
watchful and earnest pastors. Yet they need not be confined 
to old methods that have ceased to be effective. The ser- 
vants of Christ have the same liberty as the children of this 
world, in view of all the circumstances, and in the light of 
experience, wisely to adapt their methods to the work to be ac- 
complished. 

Within the last fifty or seventy-five years, there has been 
a noticeable change in the general type of religious experi- 
ence, especially in the exercises attending conversion. For- 
merly awakened sinners had a deeper sense of the wicked- 
ness of their own hearts, and were filled with distress at the 



i85 

thought of being left to perish in their sins. And this con- 
tinued sometimes for weeks and months. And when relief 
came, it was attributed to the sovereign grace of God ; Chris- 
tians often spoke of their vileness in the sight of a holy God. 
Abundant examples of this are found in the Connecticut 
Evangelical Magazine. Now, as a general statement, there 
is very little manifestation of alarm, little evidence of deep 
conviction of sin. Converts do not appear to feel as " brands 
plucked from the burning," nor always as " sinners saved by 
grace," but rather as having been persuaded to consecrate 
themselves to a chosen Saviour. 

The change may in part be accounted for by the difference 
in the preaching. The truth is presented now as it was in 
former times, but different truths are put in the foreground. 
Then, the justice of God, the strict requirements of his law, 
and the eternal punishment of impenitent transgressors were 
made very prominent, and awakened sinners felt that they 
were in the hands of an angry God, who alone could grant 
them deliverance, and that whether he would deliver them 
was an awful uncertainty. Christ was not presented until 
the "law-work" had prepared the way. Now, the divine sov- 
ereignty and justice, the obdurate sinfulness of the human 
heart, the certainty of everlasting punishment to the finally 
impenitent, are less dwelt upon, and the love of God in Christ 
is the grand theme. His tender pity for the sufferings of 
men, and his yearning desire for their happiness, are some- 
times so presented as to make the impression that there is 
little occasion for alarm. 

May it not be that the state of the public mind is such as 
to demand, as it does at different periods, a re-adjustment of 
the truths made relatively prominent in the dispensation of 
the word ? 

The general instruction of children in relation to the Sa- 
viour's love, and his willingness to receive them as disciples, 
undoubtedly has its influence, — and a happy one it is, — on 
the phase of religious experience to which I have referred. 

In the organized charities that have become so numerous, 
24 



1 86 

the Congregational churches of Connecticut have taken a 
leading part. 

The missionary spirit has been alive from the first. Even 
during that dark period, it was burning in the hearts of some 
of the ministers, like Hart of Preston, and Baldwin of Dan- 
bury. And movements were made before and after the Rev- 
olution in some of the local associations, and more effectively 
by the General Association, as early as 1792, to send mission- 
aries into the new settlements. In 1798, the General Asso- 
ciation was organized into the ** Missionary Society of Con- 
necticut," whose objects were "to Christianize the heathen 
in North America, and to support and promote Christian 
knowledge in the new settlements of the United States." 
The Rev. David Bacon, sent out in 1800, was its first mis- 
sionary to the heathen. 

The history and statistics of the missionary work are ac- 
cessible to all, and we need not here dwell upon them. But 
I wish we could see the workings and influence of this society 
in its early years, — its first missionaries going into Vermont, 
and Northern New York, along the Mohawk Valley, and be- 
yond, searching out and encouraging such Christian families 
as they might find, holding the first religious meetings ever 
known in those regions ; — such men as the Rev. Joseph 
Badger, who had done hard service in the war, served as 
pastor, and was now, amid many discouragements, laying the 
foundations of churches on the Western Reserve, — the Rev. 
David Bacon, before Utica was even a village, or Rochester, 
or Buffalo, with knapsack and staff pushing his toilsome way 
alone through the wilderness, to ascertain the condition of 
the Indian tribes around the great lakes, and his succeeding 
missionary labors and journeys with his yoimg wife and infant 
children, amid perils and self-denials from which most of us 
would shrink ; — such men as Samuel J. Mills, Jr., who ex- 
plored the valley of the Mississippi when there was not a 
Congregational or Presbyterian minister in the whole State 
of Illinois, if in a.11 that valley, — who on another tour crossed 
over and preached in St. Louis the first Protestant sermon 
ever preached west of the river ; — and Salmon Giddings, who 



i87 

gathered the first church in St. Louis, and became an apostle 
to all that region ; — such men as that apostolic band from 
New Haven, who, in a moral and religious sense, almost 
transplanted Connecticut, with her Yale College, upon the 
soil of Illinois. These, and such as these, were the real 
heroes of the age, the true successors of the apostles. They 
were trained under those strong doctrines which the fathers 
had so earnestly discussed. They felt that Christ was the 
rightful Lord of this revolted world, that he had called them into 
his kingdom, and ordained them that they should go and set 
up his banners in all this expanding country. They went 
forth, and lo ! the wilderness and the solitary place have 
rejoiced and blossomed as the rose. Not only New York and 
Ohio, but all the western and northwestern States, with their 
growing churches, their schools and colleges, and all the 
evangelizing and civilizing forces of Christianity in operation, 
are the fruit of just these missionary undertakings. Con- 
necticut has not wrought all this, but her spirit and energies 
have been infused into it. Without this Home Missionary 
work, many of those strong churches and Christian institu- 
tions at the West might have had no existence ; those 
beautiful States and Territories might have been a moral 
waste, and even our national government, in its late struggle, 
might have been overthrown. 

It may seem strange that the Congregationalists, who 
ranked first among the denominations in the country a hund- 
red years ago, should now, if they have been so efficient in 
Home Missions, rank only seventh. It should be remembered 
that they have not prosecuted the work of missions in a de- 
nominational spirit. They have not sought to extend their 
own denomination, but the kingdom of Christ. With the 
utmost catholicity of feeling they have united with others in 
the missionary work, content if only Christian churches could 
be established and maintained, and the destitute have the 
means of grace supplied. Under the plan of union between 
the General Association of Connecticut and the General 
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, the Congregational 
churches furnished the larger proportion of funds for the 



i88 

work, while the larger proportion of churches gathered and 
supported were Presbyterian. It was not the Congregation- 
alists, however, that withdrew from the union. 

The light of experience clearly shows us that if there are 
peculiar excellences in the Ecclesiastical system which we 
have received from our fathers, we should appreciate those 
excellences, and maintain the system that contains them, 
and that while we should be ready to cooperate with others 
in such works as call for such cooperation, still we should give 
our main strength to the energetic prosecution of those enter- 
prises which Providence has thrown upon our own hands, or 
clearly calls us to undertake. 

To the multiplication of churches of other denominations 
in Connecticut, various causes have contributed. Among 
these was a prejudice against the Congregational churches as 
the established order, and a dissatisfaction with the support 
given them by the State. A certain coldness and formality 
in worship probably repelled many who preferred more anima- 
tion and a warmer expression of sympathy and fellowship. 
The repressive hand of the ministers on the liberty of the 
people in religious meetings had its influence. Some have 
been drawn away by their peculiar doctrinal views, but more, 
probably, by social affinities and influences. The differences 
between the evangelical denominations in Connecticut are 
less marked than formerly, and a more fraternal spirit prevails 
among them. 

In the work of Foreign Missions our churches have not 
been behind. The very germinating idea of the American 
Board has been traced to the mother of Samuel J. Mills, in 
Torringford, telling him that she had devoted him to the 
service of God as a missionary. Connecticut has sent forth 
a goodly number of noble men and women to carry the gospel 
to far, distant lands, and the blessing has returned many fold 
upon ourselves. 

A hundred years ago, slavery existed in Connecticut as in 
the other States. But there was very early manifested, in the 
Congregational churches, a strong opposition to it. As early 
as 1773 and 1774, the Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin and the Rev. 



1 89 

Jonathan Edwards were publishing essays against it ; other 
ministers, in their sermons, showed its injustice, and there 
was soon formed a society for its abolition. Although the 
anti-slavery movement, as well as that against intemperance, 
was, in many cases, unhappily compHcated with other irrelevant 
objects, yet so far as conducted in a Christian manner, it 
enlisted the sympathies and energies of a large proportion of 
our people. 

The cause of temperance has found steady and strong sup- 
port in most of our churches. The echoes of Dr. Lyman 
Beecher, and those of Dr. Hewitt, have not yet died away ; 
and notwithstanding the fearful amount of inebriety still wit- 
nessed, there has been wrought an entire change in the 
drinking habits of at least the church-going part of the com- 
munity. Intoxicating drinks are no longer provided for 
ministerial gatherings, or ordinations, or funerals, and in a 
majority of the families belonging to our congregations are 
not in common use, nor considered necessary in the way of 
hospitality. 

Connecticut is a small State, and many of the churches on 
her hills, and away from her streams and railroads, have be- 
come weak ; but her sons and daughters, trained in these 
churches, imbued with the sentiments and settled in the 
principles that have made Connecticut what she is, have 
gone forth to lay the foundations of other states, to be pillars 
in other churches, and so have caused the moral and religious 
power of our churches to be felt far and wide. Count up, in 
almost any of our secluded parishes, the men and women who 
have been raised up in it, and have gone from it ; learn their 
history, and you will gain some idea of what our churches 
have done in this way to bless the world. These parishes, 
seed-beds from which to stock the cities and the great West, 
must not fail of receiving the best culture. 

The collegiate school founded by those few Congregational 
pastors, has grown to be a national institution, — and what in 
Connecticut, of this nature, does not become national ? — and 
with its departments of philosophy and the arts, of law, and 
medicine, and theology, is sending out annually a little army 



190 

of thoroughly trained young men, to mold the public senti- 
ment and manners, to fill the offices of Church and State, to 
be legislators and judges, presidents and professors, through- 
out the land and the world. 

We have our two theological seminaries, furnishing men 
to be pastors, or missionaries, or to fill any station where the 
Lord has need of them. And though we have no female col- 
lege, we have schools of great excellence for the higher edu- 
cation of young ladies. 

If we could obtain accurate statistics of the churches from 
1776 to 1800, I am sure we should have no occasion to in- 
quire why " the former days were better than these." From 
the number of members of several churches in some part of 
that period, obtained from half-century sermons, church man- 
uals, and other sources, I believe the members of the Congre- 
gational churches of Connecticut at the present time are in 
greater proportion to the population than in that former 
period. And then, besides several Presbyterian churches, 
there is the large increase in the Episcopal church, and in 
the Baptist churches, and the whole membership in the 
Methodist churches, which have all come into being within 
the century. Including the members of all the evangelical 
churches in the State, the proportion to the population must 
have largely increased. The Episcopalians have their Trin- 
ity College and Divinity School, and the Methodists their 
Wesleyan University, each doing good service. 

In the whole country, as stated by Prof. Diman, " while the 
population has multiplied eleven fold, the churches have mul- 
tiplied nearly thirty-seven fold." A gentleman, on whom 
I rely as authority, informs me that a few years ago he made 
an investigation, with this general result : that in the last 
quarter of the last century, the number of church members in 
the United States was as one to eighteen of the population, 
and he thinks that now it will not vary much from one to 
seven. 

There can be little doubt that the standard of piety in the 
churches, and of morals in society, is higher than it was a 
century ago. There is, indeed, more open desecration of the 



191 

Sabbath, — which is to be lamented, — but perhaps as good 
use of the day is made by active Christians. Pastorates are 
shorter, but this in part may be the result of things not alto- 
gether evil. Ministers have less of authority, but more of 
reasonable influence, and are regarded rather vi^ith affection 
than fear. Christian activity is altogether in advance. One 
hundred years ago there was not a Bible society, nor tract 
society, nor missionary society, nor temperance society in all 
the land. The organized charities of the present day were 
unknown. The era of prayer-meetings, and Sabbath-schools, 
and Young Men's Christian Associations, and conventions of 
Christian workers, and the employment of woman's mighty 
influence in the ministries of the church, had not begun. 
The great world of paganism and superstition was practically 
closed to Christian benevolence. 

What a marvelous change has God wrought ? Now, the 
moral condition of the world is explored. There is access to 
every nation. Scores of missionary societies, and associa- 
tions for every Christian object, are organized and in working 
order. Missionaries are abroad, churches have sprung up in 
heathen lands, and native converts are preaching the gospel 
to their benighted countrymen. The channels of benevo- 
lence are all open, and every servant of Christ can send up 
his prayers to Heaven, and his contributions to swell the 
streams of evangelizing influence. At home, in Sabbath- 
schools, and in the various agencies for the spread of the gos- 
pel, and the conversion of souls, there is work for all who are 
willing to do it, both men and women. And the vastly in- 
creased power of the religious press, and to a great extent of 
the secular also, is exerted in favor of truth and right- 
eousness. 

God has brought this nation, which he established, safely 
through the first century of its existence, having delivered it 
from the greatest perils. He has made it a great nation — 
great in resources, great in the general intelligence of the 
people, in their inventive and industrial achievements, and in 
their power to conceive and execute the grandest enterprises. 



192 

And he has given to us the treasures of his word, and 
opened before us the nations of the earth, that we may im- 
part to them the riches we have so largely and freely 
received. 

And now, by his declared purpose to make the reign of 
his Son glorious and universal among men, by the quickening 
of his people into such general activity, and permitting them 
to witness so much of his mighty working through their 
efforts, by the multiplied agencies and instrumentalities by 
which his work may be accomplished, and by all he has 
shown us of his faithfulness in the history of our own 
churches, he calls us to renewed faith, and consecration, and 
energy. Let there be a true and intelligent consecration to 
Christ of life, and property, and talents, in all the ministers 
and members of our churches ; let our own field be made and 
kept like " the garden of the Lord ; " let all parts of our land 
be thoroughly evangelized, and let the foreign work be vigor- 
orously prosecuted, — in a word, let Christ's service be the 
first aim in the working of our mighty energies, and let the 
same spirit prevail throughout Christendom, — and this second 
century of our nation's life, which has opened so auspiciously, 
may witness the song of triumph, " The kingdoms of this 
world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his 
Christ ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." 



THE GROWTH OF A CHRISTIAN LITERATURE. 



A71 Address delivered in the Center Church, New Haven, 
before the General Cofiference of the Congregatio7ial 
Chuixhes of Connecticuty TJmrsday eveiting, November 

16, 1876. y 

BY JOSEPH ANDERSON. 



[The following address is laid before the readers of this volume in 
the precise form in which it was delivered. It was prepared without any 
reference to publication, and hardly deserved admission to these pages 
without being re-written and enlarged. After one or two futile attempts 
at reconstructing it, I concluded that I must either develop it into an 
extended essay, or let it stand as originally written. Finding the former 
course impracticable, I have published it without alteration, adding 
merely a few references in foot-notes. Although the title is expressed 
in the most general terms, being conformed to the wording of the topic 
as assigned beforehand, my field of view in the address was New Eng- 
land, and, for the most part, Connecticut only. — J. A.] 



In the city of New York, during the present week, and in 
fact at this very hour, an auction-sale is taking place, which 
will result in breaking up and scattering to all quarters of the 
land the large and costly library of an industrious collector 
of books.' In the elegantly printed Catalogue, which em- 
braces a list of several thousand volumes,- I find the follow- 
ing title, numbered 514, under the name of John Davenport : 

1 The library referred to was that of Mr. William Menzies of New York. 
The sale took place at the sale-rooms of Messrs. George A. Leavitt & Co., on 
Monday, November 13, and following days. 

2 "Catalogue of the Books, Manuscripts, and Engravings belonging to 
William Menzies of New York. Prepared by Joseph Sabin. New York : 
1875." PP- xix, 473. 

25 . ' 



194 

"A Discourse about Civil Government in a New Planta- 
tion whose Design is Religion. Written many years since, 
by that Reverend and Worthy Minister of the Gospel, John 
Cotton, B. D., and now Published by some Undertakers of a 
new Plantation for General Direction and Information. Cam- 
bridge : Printed by Samuel Green and Marmaduke Johnson. 

MDCLXIII." 

I find also the following title, numbered 452 : 

" A Confession of F'aith Owned and Consented to by 
the Elders and Messengers of the Churches in the Colony 
of Connecticut in New England, Assembled by Delegation at 
Say-Brook, September 9th, 1708. New London in N. E. 
Printed by Thomas Short. 17 10." 

These volumes — the latter numbering 116 small pages, the 
former numbering only 24 — are bound (so the Catalogue 
informs us) in Levant morocco, at an expense which would 
have surprised and grieved the good men who wrote them, 
and at yesterday's sale brought prices which any one but a 
book-collector would consider exorbitant and absurd.^ How 
are these things explained ? I answer, By the fact that these 
books are very rare. Davenport's Discourse (ascribed by 
mistake on the title-page to John Cotton) is not only one 
of the earUest books printed in this country, having been 
issued thirty years before New York had a printing press, 
but is so scarce that this is " the only copy known to have 
been offered for sale in forty years." ^ The Confession of 
Faith is the first book printed in Connecticut, and is ** so 
rare," says the compiler of the Catalogue, " that we are unable 
to record the public sale of a copy." ^ 

From a multitude of similar productions enumerated in 
this Catalogue — most of them rare, some of them unique 
copies — I select these two works for obvious reasons as rep- 
resenting the New England literature of the early Colonial 
period. The works of which that literature is composed, 
whether treatises, sermons, pamphlets, or poems, are counted 

^ The Confession sold for sixty dollars ; Davenport's Discourse for forty- 
five dollars. 

* Mr. J. Sabin, in his preface to the Menzies Catalogue, p. iv. 
^ Catalogue, p. 91. 



195 

not by hundreds but by thousands ; and although most of 
them are totally unknown to the modern reader of books, 
and some so scarce that money can not buy them, they were 
a genuine product of the age and people which they repre- 
sent, possessing a real vitality, and exerting a powerful influ- 
ence upon the times which gave them birth. This early New 
England literature is not only amazingly extensive, consider- 
ing all the circumstances of the colonists and their first de- 
scendants ; it possesses a marked individuality, and embodies 
an unusual measure of intellectual power. It is a literature 
almost entirely ecclesiastical and Congregational ; a literature 
representing the seemingly trivial conflicts of a hundred 
years over the technicalities of church government and the 
relations of the Church to the State ; a literature which, 
judged by the test of artistic excellence, scarcely deserves 
the name.^ Yet what industry was put into it, what thought- 
fulness, what diligent research, what stringent logic, what 
patient, constructive labor, what Puritan enthusiasm, what 
fervent prayer ! Here was a company of noble Englishmen, 
most of them trained in European universities, practiced in 
thinking and in putting their thoughts on paper, who had 
crossed the sea and established homes in the wilderness for 
the sake of their religious opinions ; and they made it their 
business to testify to their principles not only on the high- 
way and in the pulpit, but also with their pens. Many of 
them seem to have felt as Arnold of Rugby, when he 
exclaimed, " I must write a pamphlet or I shall burst ! " and 
not a few there were who could find relief from this inward 
peril only in a labored treatise or a complete " Body of 
Divinity." What they produced had their life's blood in it, 
and this gave it a value which nothing else could have 
bestowed. A Connecticut scholar, speaking of John Eliot's 
translation of the Bible into one of the Indian languages — a 
task actually accomplished in that early time — characterizes 

^ " Writing is not literature unless it gives to the reader a pleasure which 
arises not only from the things said, but iVom the way in which they are said ; 
and that pleasure is only given when the words are carefully or curiously or 
beautifully put together into sentences." — Primer of English Literature^ by the 
Rev. Stopford Brooke : p. 6. 



196 

it as a "marvelous triumph of scholarship, achieved in the 
face of difficulties which might well have appeared insur- 
mountable It may be doubted if, in the two centuries 

which have elapsed since the Indian Bible was printed, any 
translation of the sacred volume has been made from the 
English to a foreign tongue of more literal accuracy and 
completeness." '' He gives the secret of this notable success 
in Eliot's own words : ** Prayer and pains, through faith in 
Christ Jesus, will do anything " ; and this, I think, is the 
explanation of what must otherwise be a strange phenomenon 
• — this development of a New England literature during the 
early Colonial days. 

These Colonial days constitute the first of three periods in 
the history of the Christian literature of New England. The 
second is the Revolutionary period, and may be described as 
theological. Questions of church government were by no 
means thrust out of sight, but questions of doctrine attracted 
more and more attention. Davenport and Eliot, Cotton and 
Roger Williams, Shepard and Hooker and the Mathers — 
those champions of a Congregational polity — were followed 
by a school of metaphysicians who put their whole strength 
into theology. 'Already in 1726, A Complete Body of Divini- 
ty, in two hundred and fifty lectures, written by Samuel 
Willard, of Boston,^ had been given to the world in a folio 
of 914 pages ; and in 1746, Solomon Williams, of Lebanon, 
in Connecticut, had issued a treatise on Justification. But 
the theological era really began with Jonathan Edwards, 
whose Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will, and dissertations 
concerning The End for which God created the World and 
The Nature of True Virtue, stand thus far unsurpassed for 
intellectual ability in the domain of American theology. 
This era embraces (among Connecticut men) John Smalley 
of New Britain, Joseph Bellamy of Bethlehem, Samuel Hop- 

" Mr. J. Hammond Trumbull, in the preface (p. 6) to his reprint of Roger 
"Williams' Key into the Language of America, " Publications of the Narragansett 
Club," vol. I. , Providence, R. I., 1866. 

^ Samuel Willard died in 1707, so that the publication of his lectures was 
posthumous. 



197 

kins, who was born in Waterbury, Timothy Dwight, and 
Jonathan Edwards the younger ; and, if we pass over into 
the modern period, we may inckide Lyman Eeecher, Na- 
thaniel W. Taylor, and Horace Bushnell, not to name others 
who still remain with us. All these have been voluminous 
and influential writers, and have contributed largely to the 
Christian literature of America. In the graces of style, some 
of them (Hopkins and Edwards especially) compare unfavor- 
ably even with their Puritan predecessors ; but in intellectual 
acuteness, in logical skill, in tenacious adherence to a theo- 
logical system and unflinching championship of it with tongue 
and pen, I know of no group of authors, in America at least, 
that can be compared with them. 

And now, what shall I say of the third, that is, the modern 
period, as compared with the other two ? Looking at its 
strictly Christian, or rather, its strictly religious literature, 
how shall we estimate it ? 

A few mornings since, as I came down Chapel street, I 
stopped, as a visitor in New Haven should, to look at the 
statue of Abraham Pierson, first rector of Yale College. .1 
was somewhat taken aback at seeing that bowed head be- 
decked with a jaunty felt hat — the midnight offering, doubt- 
less, of some devout collegian ! I turned away with a strange 
mixture of feelings ; but, having my mind on the theme 
assigned me for to-night, I said to myself, Why not find in 
this crowned figure a symbol of the Christian literature of 
New England in the three periods of its history ? — First, the 
granite pedestal ; secondly, the bronze effigy ; and thirdly, 
the fashionable but transitory hat of felt ! For, did we not 
begin with Hooker and Davenport, with Roger Williams and 
John Eliot } and did we not attain to the heights represented 
by Edwards and Hopkins and Emmons ? and have we not, 
after all this, descended to the platitudes of tract societies, 
to the milk-and-water of religious fiction, and to the weari- 
some jingle of Sunday-school hymns ? 

But, after all, we cannot with justice speak thus disparag- 
ingly of the Christian literature of the modern period, except 



198 

as we give a very narrow definition to the word Christian. 
It is true that in proportion to the population of the country, 
the intelligence of the people, and the strength of the 
churches, there is less literary activity in strictly ecclesiasti- 
cal fields than there was in our primitive times ; it is true 
there is far less intellectual energy infused into systematic 
theology, and subjects allied to it ; yet the Christian litera- 
ture of to-day, as a whole, exhibits a decided advance upon 
that which preceded it. The increase in the amount of ma- 
terial is the least important part of the change which has 
taken place. There has been, along with this, a marked im- 
provement in aesthetic quality, and an immense growth in 
catholicity and practical usefulness. In our first age, and 
until the Revolution, the New England people were en- 
grossed with the affairs of religion. The Church was the 
pivot upon which everything turned. The thoughts of men 
ran in the well-worn grooves marked out for them by their 
spiritual teachers ; their speech and life were imbued with 
ecclesiasticism, and, apart from an occasional combat in the- 
ology, their life moved on very quietly.^ For good or for ill, 
that time has gone by. Our communities have something to 
think of besides the " half-way covenant " and the doctrine 
of election. They must attend to their manufactures and 
their politics, to their banks and their railroads, to their hos- 
pitals and seminaries and missions, to art and science, to the 
fashions and the jails. And this increase in the breadth 
and variety of our social life reveals itself perforce in our 
literature. 

It has been well remarked by President Porter, in his col- 
lection of papers entitled Books and Readings that in order 
to deserve a place in Christian literature, *' a work need not 
be religious either in matter or in form ; it need neither avow 

a «' Adventures of all kinds must be very rare in a country perfectly quiet 
and orderly in its state of society. In a series of journeys sufficiently extensive 
to have carried me through two-thirds of the distance round the globe, I have 
not met with one. Nearly every man whom I have seen was calmly pursuing 
the sober business of peaceful li.e ; and the history of my excursion was liter- 
ally confined to the breakfast, dinner, and supper of the day."' Dwight's 
Travels in New England and New Yorky vol. I, p. x. This was so late as 
1796. 



199 

Christian doctrines nor express Christian feelings ; " if it be 
only controlled and pervaded by those ethical faiths and 
emotions that are distinctively Christian, and by a recogni- 
tion of Christ as the object of trust and reverence, that is 
sufficient to show where it belongs.'" It is unquestionably 
right to enlarge our conception of Christian literature in 
accordance with this standard of measurement ; and as soon 
as we have done so, how grand appears the literary develop- 
ment which has taken place in this modern age, how genuine 
and vigorous our literary life ! We feel that President Dwight 
was contributing to Christian literature alike in publishing 
his Theology and in composing his Travels ; that Bushnell 
was doing the same, alike in his Nature and the Supernatiiraly 
and in his address on The Age of Homespiui ; and that Dr. 
Woolsey is doing the same, alike when he publishes TJie 
Religion of the Present and of the Future, and when he lays 
before the world his Introduction to the Study of International 
Law. Our Christianity to-day will not allow itself to be 
limited, and our Christian literature must partake of the same 
breadth and versatility. 

When the father of Rector Pierson, pastor of the church in 
Branford, prepared his Indian Catechism (published in 1658) 
for those full-grown babes of the Quinnipiac, in their buck- 
skin and war-paint, this was the kind of meat he set before 
them : " How do you prove," he asks, '* that there is but one 
true God t " and he teaches the Red man to answer as 
follows : 

" Because the reason why singular things of the same kind 
are multiplied is not to be found in the nature of God, for the 
reason why such like things are multiplied is from the fruit- 
fulness of their causes ; but God hath no cause of his being, 
but is of himself ; therefore he is one. 

" 2. Because singular things of the same kind, when they 
are multiplied, are differenced among themselves by their sin- 
gular properties ; but there can not be found another God 
differenced from this by any such like properties." '^ 

1*^ Porter on Books and Reading, pp. 114-117. 

11 " Some Helps for the Indians Undertaken by Abraham Peir- 

son" : pp. [11], [12]. These answers are referred to by Mr. J. H. Trumbull in 
the preface to his reprint of Pierson's Catechism, p. 10. 



200 

What a sublime indifference to the Hmits of the savage in- 
tellect and the capabilities of aboriginal speech is here ! and 
what a reckless faith in metaphysics ! The Christian litera- 
ture of New England has outgrown the day when anything 
like this was possible ; it exhibits art and skill and a capacity 
for self-adjustment, and, above all, it has clothed itself in a 
beautiful utility. See how it extends into every domain of 
life ; see how it grapples with every social and scientific 
problem ; see how it is imbued with the spirit of reform and 
of progress ; see how it covers the wide field of ethics and 
politics, of parish work and missions, of amusements and 
labor, of education and art ! 

Along with this change from the technical and narrow to 
the broad and practical, from the provincial to the cosmo- 
politan, in the character of our Christian literature, has come 
a change in its outward form,' revealing the same law of pro- 
gress. I refer to the change by which it has become so 
IdiVgoiy periodical, becoming thereby all the more wide-spread 
and popular. ' In the seventeenth century, an author had no 
vehicle for his opinions save the pamphlet or the book. But 
in the year 1704 there came from the press the first newspaper, 
the News-Letter of Boston. The Connecticut Gazette was 
established in 1755 ; and in 1775 there were in all the Colo- 
nies thirty-seven newspapers. In due time the religious 
world had its periodicals — the Evangelical Magazine oi Hart- 
ford, in 1800 ; the Religious Intelligencer of New Haven, in 
1 8 1 7 ; the Christian Spectator, two years after ; the Christian 
Sentinel in 1838 ; \hQ New E7tglander in 1843 ; and beyond 
the limits of Connecticut many others, some of them now de- 
funct, and some still living, — an army of journals and maga- 
zines, carrying Christian truth in an endless variety of forms 
into the homes of the people. Much of this literature is cer- 
tainly superficial, crude and worthless ; but upon the whole 
it is able, pointed, honest, and helpful to mankind. 

Of the multitude of Connecticut people who have visited 
the International Exhibition at Philadelphia, some, no doubt, 
must have observed in the department of American education 



201 

the " exhibit " of books written by the alumni of Yale College. 
Shelf above shelf, in the Connecticut division, was filled with 
their works — the fruit of the flourishing tree planted at the 
center of this provincial town, so many years ago. The col- 
lection is one which does honor to Yale College and to Con- 
necticut. And it suggests these facts, among many : first, 
that a genuine literature is an exponent of the life of the 
people — partaking, so to speak, of the flavor of the soil ; sec- 
ondly, that universities and colleges are ever the fountains 
whence the best literatures flow ; and lastly, that a good 
literature, in a free land like this, is almost unlimited in its 
scope and in its diffusion, and unmeasured in its beneficent 
influence. 

We are here to-night, at the close of a Conference which 
has been largely retrospective, to nourish in ourselves the 
spirit of thankfulness. As we recall our occasions for grati- 
tude, let us not fail to take account of the function of human 
speech, and the invention of letters and of printing. And 
let us give thanks for this, that New England men have ever 
been bold to speak and skillful to write, that the freedom of 
the press has never been denied to us, and that in all our 
history those who have sought the companionship which is 
found in good books — whether for the light which they shed 
upon the mind, or the consolation which they bestow upon 
smitten hearts — have not sought it in vain. So may it ever 
be! 



26 



THE INFLUENCE OF NEW ENGLAND IDEAS ON 
THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY. 

/ 

AN ADDRESS BY PROF. CYRUS NORTHROP. 



We have all read of 

" the list 
Of hero, sage, and martyr, 
Who in the Mayflower's cabin signed 
The first New England charter." 

That solemn compact of government signed in the cabin 
of the Mayflower, Bancroft pronounces " the birth of consti- 
tutional liberty." He asserts that " democratic liberty and 
independent Christian worship at once existed in America as 
the Pilgrims landed." 

We may safely assume, then, that liberty, in State and in 
Church, or, to use a much-abused term, " local self-govern- 
ment," is a New England idea; and even the most cursory 
glance at our history, political and ecclesiastical, reveals the 
fact that this idea has been most steadily cherished and most 
carefully guarded. In our local town governments, and in 
our Congregational churches throughout the country, the idea 
is most happily illustrated. The extent to which this idea 
has been propagated may be most readily seen by following 
the lines of New England emigration. Within these lines we 
find New England ideas triumphant. Outside of these lines 
other ideas, modified more or less by New England example, 
seem to prevail. From the older New England States Ver- 
mont was settled. Then a New England emigration peopled 
Western New York. Then from New England and New 
Englanders in New York in the next generation, Northern 
Ohio, and to some extent the rest of the State was settled. 
Then Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and 
Kansas, were successively occupied. And finally, even Cali- 
nia, Oregon, and the intervening region received a large emi- 



203 

gration of people of New England origin. On the other 
hand, Indiana was hardly affected by New England emigra- 
tion, Pennsylvania and Kentucky dividing the honor of form- 
ing the character of that State. Lower New York and New 
Jersey were never controlled by the New England element. 
But all the vast territory largely peopled by persons of New 
England origin has been uniformly faithful to the New 
England idea of democratic liberty ; and even in the cities 
of the older States, where a more recent emigration from 
Europe has materially changed the character of the popula- 
tion, the essential New England ideas have not yet been de- 
throned. 

A second New England idea is universal education. The 
early organization of Harvard and Yale, and the establish- 
ment of schools in every hamlet where there were children to 
be taught, furnish most conclusive evidence of the high esti- 
mation in which our fathers held the intellectual culture of 
the young. Though living themselves in the rudest log- 
houses, they took care to provide comparatively comfortable 
school-houses, in which their children could be educated. 
Their school-houses were not such buildings as now adorn 
our cities and principal towns, nor was the education therein 
gained such as may now be acquired in even our common 
schools ; but the instruction given was adequate to the wants 
of the time, and developed noble and intelligent men and 
women, who were most serviceable to the State and to the 
Church. Nor was it alone in New England that the power 
of this education was felt. The boys and girls trained by it 
became the founders of new commonwealths in the West, 
and they carried with them everywhere the New England 
system of common schools. The admirable school system 
of many of the States of the West and Northwest, and the 
liberal support given to it, are the fruits of New England 
ideas transplanted and germinating in a most fertile soil. 
That the West, for the last half century, has not been as 
dark, intellectually, as some other parts of our country, is due 
to the fact that New England and not Virginia molded its 
institutions and furnished the controlling elements of its 
civilization. 



204 

A third New England idea was that rehgion consists more 
in a life of faith and obedience than in a connection with any 
church organization ; that the tie which binds the individual 
believer to Christ is stronger and more important than the 
tie which binds him to any given number or any given class 
of believers as a church. They valued their churches highly, 
but most of all for the freedom they secured to individual 
believers, and their exemption from outside influence un- 
authorized by the Word of God. The church existed for 
the strengthening and edification of believers, and not the 
believers for the glory of the church. Hence there resulted 
great freedom from a narrow and bigoted sectarianism. 
Hence that readiness shown everywhere and always by Con- 
gregation alists to co-operate with Christians of any name in 
carrying forward the work of Christ without regard to their 
own denominational preferences. Hence that readiness to 
join other churches, where a church of their own polity could 
not be found. Hence that liberality of our great missionary 
organizations in founding and sustaining churches not Con- 
gregational. Hence that noble spirit of charity in which 
Congregationalists have contributed most bountifully to a 
great variety of enterprises for the benefit of the world, 
without the slightest prospect of advantage to distinctive 
Congregationalism, 

This New England idea may be briefly stated as preferring 
the substance to the form. The value of this conciliating ele- 
ment in combining other more inflexible and rigid elements 
in a new country for Christian work, can hardly be over- 
estimated, and the influence for good which it has exerted 
in the West has been incalculably great. If now you tell 
me that the New Englanders were severe in their beliefs, 
and that they lived in an atmosphere of gloom, I say of 
them as Paul said to the church at Corinth : " What care- 
fulness it wrought in them, what clearing of themselves, 
what earnestness, what fear, what zeal." The godly sorrow 
or the severe belief which produces such results cannot be 
very bad. We live in a time when brighter views of God's 
government are entertained ; but the sterner beliefs of the 



205 

early New Englanders will not suffer in comparison, if 
tested by their power to produce those strong Christian 
virtues which are so earnestly insisted on in every part of 
the Word of God, and without which — if I read that Word 
aright — whether there be a Christ or no Christ, no man 
shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Had the New 
Englanders conception of God's government, justice, and 
holiness been less solemn than it was, had his standard of 
morality been lower than it was, the fruits of the civiliza- 
tion which he founded, and of the Christianity which he 
cherished, would not be so precious as they are even now. 

Again, it was owing to New England ideas and the same 
conciliating spirit in politics that has characterized Congre- 
gationalists in religious work, that patriotic men in the 
South were made prominent as leaders in the struggle for 
our national independence, and that by a practical unity of 
the whole country, our independence was so early gained 
and a republican form of government established. 

In the development of this government and the establish- 
ment of universal freedom, New England ideas, though for 
a time overpowered, have at last been triumphant. Was it 
an accident that within three months after that Dutch man- 
of-war had landed twenty negroes on the coast of Virginia, 
and they had been sold as slaves, the Mayflower appeared 
off the coast of Massachusetts bearing one hundred and two 
pilgrims.'* I see in the coming years the chains carried from 
Virginia to Texas, new links constantly forged and new 
victims manacled, until they are numbered by millions. But 
I see the institutions and principles of the Pilgrims, taking 
possession of New England, of the great Middle States, of 
the mighty Northwest, on to the shores of the Pacific ; 
carried everywhere by the sturdy settlers who fell the forests 
and plant civilization ; proclaimed and advocated from ten 
thousand pulpits, not of their faith only but of every Chris- 
tian faith. As I watch these two forces, slavery and barbarism 
at the South, freedom and civilization in the North, moving 
along resistlessly in parallel lines across the continent, I see 
that one of these is the agent in God's hands for the destruc- 



206 

tion of the other. And when the irrepressible conflict came, 
as come it must, in that supreme moment of mortal agony, 
when a great nation plunged into a sea of blood for its own 
purification from a national crime, God, the God of our New 
England fathers, gave the victory to New England ideas, and 
secured, in name at least, to every man, woman, and child in 
the country, without regard to race, color, or previous condi- 
tion of servitude, the same freedom and the same rights 
which we, the children of New England, have always en- 
joyed. Whether this universal freedom shall in coming 
generations be the heritage of every child of the Republic, 
will depend upon the unity and firmness with which the 
children of New England shall stand by the ideas of New 
England. 



INDEX. 



Adams, John, - - 142 

His opinion of Yale College 
and Connecticut, - - - - 129 

American Board of Commission- 
ers for Foreign Missions, 133, 188 
"American Hero," by Niles, 32-34 
Amherst College, ----- 117 

Arnold, Thomas, of Rugbj^, Eng.,195 
Atkins, Rev. Elisha, - - - - 82 

Austin, Aaron, - - - - - - 132 

Avery, Rev. David, . . . . 44 

Notice of sermon of, - - - 45 

Backus, Rev. Azel, - - - 106, 107 
Backus, Rev. Charles, - - - - 117 

Bacon, Rev. David, - - - - 186 

Badger, Rev. Joseph, - - - - 186 

Baldwin, Rev. Ebenezer, - - 38, 39 

46, 47, 166, 174, 186, 188 

Baldwin, Roger Sherman, - - 138 

Bancroft, George, ----- 202 

Baptist churches, - - - - - 173 

Barlow, Joel, ------- 22 

Bartlett, Rev. Nathaniel, - - - 47 
Beebe, Rev. James, ----- 40 

Beecher, Rev. Lyman, - 189, 197 
His views on the defeat of the 
"Standing order," - 175,176 
Belden, Rev. Joshua, - - - - 50 

Bellamy, Rev. Joseph, - 40, 117 

179, 196 
Benedict, Rev. Joel, - - - - 73 

Berkeley, Bishop Grcorge, - - 109 

Bible in schools, 167 

Bird, Rev. Samuel, ----- 28 
Bishop, Abraham, ----- 100 
Bliss, Rev. John, ----- 132 
Boardman, Rev. Benjamin, - - 28 
Book companies, - - - 110-116 
Boston Port bill, 18 

2T 



Botsford, William, ----- 107 
Brace, Rev. Joab, ----- 51 

Bradley, Philip B., 44 

Brainerd, John G. C, - - - - 138 
Extract from poem of, - 129, 130 

Branford, - - 140 

Bray, Rev. Thomas, - - - - II7 
Brockway, Rev. Thomas, - 78, 79 
Bulkley, Rev. Gershom, - - - 28 
Burgoyne, Gen. John, - - - 34, 56 

57, 59, 122 
Burke, Edmund, ----- 127 
Burton, Rev. Asa, ----- 179 
Bushnell, Rev. Horace, - 197, 199 
Byles, Rev. Mather, - - - - 74 

Calhoun, John C, ----- 137 

Opinion of the influence of 
Conn., -------- 142 

Cambridge Platform, - - - - 163 

Case, Rev. Wheeler, - - - - 34 

Catechism, Westminster, - 3, 134 

In schools, 167 

Indian, by Pierson, - - - - 199 
Champion, Rev. Judah, 57-60, 174 
Channing, Rev. Wm. Ellery, - 182 
Charities, growth of, - - 185, 186 
Charles II, letter of, - - - - 11 
Chariest own, Ms., burning of, - 32 
Charter of 1662, extract from, - 9 
Chaucer's good minister, - - - 138 
Chauncey, Charles, - - . . 142 
Chauncey, Col. Elihu, - - - - 17 
Chauncey, Rev. Israel, - - - 28 
Chauncey, Rev. Nathaniel, - - 107 
Christian experience, change in 
type of, ----- - 184, 185 

Christian homes, 177 

Christian literature, growth of, 

193-201 



208 



Christian Sentinel, ----- 200 

Christian Spectator, . - - - 200 
Church, Samuel, ----- 188 

Church member excommuni- 
cated for trading with the 
British, -------- 2G 

Church members, gaining on the 
population, ------- 190 

Churches, progress of, - - 190, 191 
Are schools, - - - - 168, 169 

Civil government, origin of in 
Connecticut colony, - - 145-151 
New Haven colony, - - 154-157 
lielations of to the churches, - 172 
Instituted in Conn., for the 
churches, and by their mem- 
bers, -------- 159 

Relations to the churches not 
the same in the two colo- 
nies — the ditference stated, 

160, 161 
Cogswell, Rev. James, - - 35, 80 
Collamer, Jacob, ------ 125 

Common schools, ----- 167 

Bible in, -------- 167 

Westminster Catechism in, - 167 

Conciliation, spirit of in politics, 205 

Congregational churches, - - 176 

Relations to civil affairs, - - 165 

166, 176 
Relations to common schools, 

176, 177 
Relations to education, - - 166 
Relations to reforms, - - - 169 
Standing order, - - - - - 175 

Congregational ministers, oppo- 
sition to, -------- 175 

Congregationalism, - . - - - 146 
Congregationalists in 1774, - - 172 
Connecticut, Calhoun's opinion 
of, ---------- 142 

Founded for and by the 
churches, ------- 151 

General condition of in 1776, 30 
Land of steady habits, - - 7 
Share of, in the revolution, 

174, 175 
Connecticut Evangelical Maga- 
zine, 138, 185, 200 



Connecticut Gazette, - - - - 200 
Connecticut Reserve, - - - - 125 
Consociations, influence of in 

regard to errors, ----- 183 
Constitution of 1639, - - - - 150 

Cotton, Rev. John, 137 

Cowper's good minister, - - - 139 

Daggett, David. ------ 137 

Daggett, Rev. Naphtali, 62-66, 124 

Capture of, ----- - 64-66 

Dana, Rev. James, - - 60-62, 166 

Notice of sermon of, - - - 61 

Dana, Samuel W., - - - - - 142 

Dana, Rev. Sylvester, - - - - 117 

Davenport, Rev. John, 9, 154, 155 

159, 163, 164, 196 

Despondency at absorption of 
New Haven colony by Con- 
necticut, ------- 162 

Discourse by, ------ 193 

Day, Rev. Jeremiah, of New 

Preston, -------- 174 

Day, Rev, Jeremiah, President, 127 
Deane, Silas, - - - - - - 21, 136 

Declaration of independence, by 

General Assembly of Conn., 19, 20 
Democratic party, growth of, 95, 96 

Issues made by, - - - - 98-102 
De Tocqueville, Alexis, His 

opinion of Connecticut, 148, 144 
Devotion, Rev. Ebenezer, - - 80 
Devotion, Rev. John, - - - - 84 

Dissenters, 163 

District schools, 7 

Dorchester, Mass. , - - - 147, 149 
Drj^den's good minister, - - - 139 
Dwight, Rev. Timothy, Presi- 
dent, 22, 71-73, 107, 127, 179 
180, 183, 184, 197, 198, 199 

''Columbia," - - - - -72,73 

Extract from sermon of, - - 28 

"Greenfield Hill," - - - 90-92 

On early ministers of Conn. , - 5 

Theology, ------- 180 

Early marriages,- ----- 135 

Early ministers of Connecticut, 

and good manners, - 126, 1^7 
Dwight's opinion of, - - - 5 



2og 



Educated, how and where, - 4 
Educators, ----- 106-llG 
Fanners, 104 

Leaders of the people, - - - 3 
Love liberty, - - - - 10, 20, 21 
Loyal to the King, - - - - 11 
Early New England literature, 

character and extent of, 194-196 
East Guilford, now Madison, - 140 
Skirmishes with the British, 

140, 141 
Eaton, Theophilus, - - - 154, 155 
Edmund, William, ----- 132 
Edwardean Theology, - - 179, 180 
Edwards, Rev. Jonathan, Presi- 
dent, - 117,179 

Writings of, ------ 19G 

Edwards, Rev. Jonathan, the 

younger, 117, 179, 180, 189, 197 
Edwards, Pierrepont, - - - - 137 

Eells, Rev. John, - - - - 28, 50 

Eells, Rev. Nathaniel, - - - - 77 

Extract from sermon of, - - 77 
Election sermons, extracts from, 

82-88 
Eliot, Rev. Andrew, - - - - 41 

Extracts from letters of, - - 41 

119-124 

Eliot, Rev. Jared, 104 

And his negro, Kedar, - - - 135 
Eliot, Rev. John, and his Indian 
Bible, ------ 195,196 

Eliot, Rev. John, of Madison, - 141 

Ellis, Rev. John, 76 

Ellsworth, Oliver, - - - 21, 107, 

115, 136, 142 
Ellswwth, William W., - - -138 
Ely, Rev. David, - - - - 47, 48 

Ely, Rev. Zebulon, ----- 76 

Emigration from Conn. , - - - 125 
Influence of, ------ 189 

Emmons, Rev. Nathaniel, 107, 117 

179, 187 
Episcopal movement in Strat- 
ford, - 164 

Episcopalians in Conn., in 1774, 173 
Eustis, Gov. William, of Mass., 

117, 118 
Exercise scheme, 179 



Fairfield East Association, ac- 
tion of on learning and re- 
ligion, 38 

Falmouth, now Portland, Me., 

burning of, 32 

Family religion, G 

Faulkner's Island and British 

vessels, 140 

Federal Convention, influence 

of Connecticut in, - - - - 142 
Federal party, described, - - - 98 
Struggles with the Democratic 

party, 98-102 

Finney, Rev. Charles G. , - - - 184 

Fire lands, 125 

First book published in Conn., - 194 
Fish, Rev. Joseph, - - - - 75-77 

Fisher, Alexander, 107 

Fisher, Rev. George P., - - - 180 
Foreign missions, - - - . 188 
Fowier, Rev. William C, letter 

of on town libraries, - 108-116 
Franklin, Benjamin, - - . . 136 
French infidelity, ----- 96 

Gage, Gen. Thomas, - - - - 32 
Gay, Rev. Ebenezer, - - - - 53 
General Assembly of Conn, de- 
clare their lo3^alty in 1774, 12-14 
Declare independence, - - 19, 20 
General Association of Conn., 

162, 166, 186 
Condole with ministers of Bos- 
ton in 1774, 34, 35 

Call to humiliation in 1775 

and 1776, 35-37, 38 

Early home missionary action 
of, ------ - 132,133 

General Court of Conn., origin 

of, 150 

Constitution of, in 1639, - - 150 

Assumed control of churches, 161 

Interfered with affairs of 

churches in Hartford, 

Windsor, and Wethersfield, 161 

George III, ------- 166 

Giddings, Rev. Salmon, - - - 186 

Gilbert, Sylvester, 132 

Goddard, Calvin, 137 



2IO 



Goldsmith's good minister, - - 189 
Goodricli, Chauncey, Jefferson's 

opinion of, ------ 142 

Goodricli, Rev. Elizur, 23, G6, 70, 71, 

107, 117, 132, 173, 174 

Candor of, ------- 26 

Goodrich, Samuel G., - - - - 138 

Goose Island, ------- 141 

Gould, James, ------ 137 

Governors of Conn. , all church 

members till 1811, - - - 165 
Gradual decline of political in- 
fluence of Congregational 
ministers of Conn., causes 

of, - - -95-102 

Graveyards, ------- 8 

Great awakening, - - - 164, 177 
Greene, Gen. Nathaniel, extract 

from letter of, - - - - - 24 

Griswold, Roger, - - - 137, 142 
Griswold, Rev, Stanley, - - - 99 
Grosvenor, Thomas, - - - - 132 

Guilford, - - 140 

Origin of civil government in, 157 

Hale, Nathan, - 22 

Half-way covenant, - - - 116, 178 

Owning the covenant, - 116, 118 

Hall, Rev. Lyman, ----- 39 

Halleck, Fitz-Greene, - - - - 138 

Extract from poem of, - - - 129 

Hampden, John, 154 

Hardy, Commodore, - - - - 140 
Hart, Rev. Levi, - 73, 74, 117, 166, 

178, 179, 186 
Hartford, origin of town and 

church, ----- 146-149 
. First church formed at New- 
town, Mass., 147 

Appeal of an excommunicated 
member of the church to 
the General Court, - - - 161 
Haynes, Gov. John, - - - - 158 

Hewitt, Rev. Nathaniel, - - - 189 
Hill, George, ------- 138 

Hillhouse, James, ----- 68 

Hillhouse, James A., - - - - 138 

Holmes, Abiel, ------ 187 

Holmes, Uriel, 100 



Home missionary movements, 

early, ------ 186,187 

Hooker, Rev. Thomas, 9, 147, 159, 
161, 163, 164, 165, 196 
Sermon on civil government, 

151, 152 
Hopkins, Rev. Samuel, - 117, 179, 

180, 181, 196 
Hopkins' Grammar School, - - 167 
Hopkinsianism, ------ 180 

Hosmer, Stephen Titus, - - - 137 

Hotham, Admiral, 140 

Household industry and manu- 
factures, ------- 105 

Maxims, -------- 106 

Hubbard, Elijah, ----- 132 

Hubbard, Samuel D., - - - -107 

Hume's testimony for the Puri- 
tans of England, - - - - 9 

Humphrey, Col. David, 22, 187, 140 

Huntington, Rev. Enoch, - 69, 107 

Extract from sermon of, - - 69 

Huntington, Jabez, 21 

Huntington, Samuel, - 21, 186, 142 

Indians on Conn, river, motives 
of in asking the English to 
settle here, ------ 148 

Influence of the churches on 

civil government, - - - - 165 

Influence of New England ideas 

on the country, - - - 202-206 

Ingersoll, Jared, ------ 20 

IngersoU, Ralph L, 188 

Jefferson's administration, - - 130 
Opinion of Chauncey Good- 
rich, 142 

Johnson, Rev. Stephen, 35, 77, 78, 

82, 168, 173 

Arousing the spirit of liberty, 17 

Johnson, William Samuel, - - 21, 

136, 142 
Judson, Rev. Ephraim, - - - 74 

Killingworth, now Clinton, - - 140 
Kingsley, Prof. William L., - 128 

Lafayette, 75, 186 



211 



Lamed, Miss Ellen,-lctters of, 80, 82 
Leavenworth, Rev. Mark, 68, 69, 117 
Lee, Rev. Andrew, ----- 76 

Lee, Rev. Jonathan, - - - - 82 

Leonard, Rev. Abiel, - - - 80-82 
Lewis, Rev. Isaac, - - - - 43, 44 

Lexington, battle of, - - - - 56 

Litchfield, -------- 100 

Law school, ------ 137 

Literature distinguished from 

writing, ------- 195 

Local self-government, - 202, 203 
Locke, John, ------- 11 

Lockwood, Rev. Samuel, - - 35 
Lockwood, Rev. William, - - 50 
Lord, Rev. Benjamin, - - - - 75 

Lord Brook, ------- 154 

Lord Rich, ------- 154 

Lord Say and Seal, - . . - 154 
Ludlow, Roger, ------ 153 

Lyman, Phinehas, ----- 17 

Madison's administration — diffi- 
cult}' with Conn, in war of 
1812, -------- 130 

Mann, Horace, ------ 107 

Mansfield, Col. Jared, - - - - 137 

Marietta, O., - - 125 

Mason, Jeremiah, ----- 108 

Mason, Rev. John, ----- 106 

Maverick, Rev. John, - - 146, 149 
Mather, Rev. Cotton, 137, 148, 194 
Mather, Rev. Moses, - - - - 41 

Twice captured, - - - 41, 42 
"Mayflower," - - - - 202,205 

Merwin, Rev. XathanT., - - 40 
Metcalf, Theron, ----- 107 

Methodists, ------- 173 

Miantonomoh, death of, - - - 28 
Mills, Rev. Samuel, - - - - 70 

Mills, Rev. Samuel J. Jr., 186, 188 
Milford, origin of civil govern- 
ment in, ------ - 157 

Milton, John, 10 

Ministry of Connecticut, active 

in political affairs, - - - 18 
Attitude toward the declara- 
tion of independence, - 22,23 
And education, 167 



And the revolution, - - 173, 174 
Consulted in practical afTairs, 26 
D wight's description of, - 90-92 
Influence in civil affairs, - - 165 
Taught the people their politi- 
cal rights and duties, - 22, 23 
Missionary Society of Connec- 
ticut, ----- 132, 133, 186 
Mitchell, Stephen Mix, - - - 142 
Modern religious literature, 

character of, ----- iQg 
Morse, Rev. Jedediah, - - - 137 

Mowatt, Captain, 32 

Munson, Rev. Eneas, - - 104, 105 

Nettleton, Rev. Asahel, - - - 184 
New divinity, - - - - - 179, 180 

New England ideas, - - 202-205 
Local self-government, - 202, 203 
Universal education, - - - 203 
Religion a life of faith, - - 204 
Conciliation in politics, - - 204 
These ideas triumphant, - - 205 
Lines of emigration, - - - 202 
New Haven, formation of First 

church in, ------ 156 

Origin of civil government in, 

154-157 
Plantation covenant, - - - 156 
Why only church members 
were allowed to vote in that 
colony, ----- 157-159 

New measures, ------ 184 

News Letter of Boston, - - - 200 
Newspapers in 1774, - - - - 173 

Newton, ^Nlass., church in moves 

to Connecticut, - - - 148, 149 

Niles, Rev. Nathaniel, - - - 31 

His "American Hero," - 32-34 

Norwalk, burning of, - - - - 44 

Old and new divinity — points 

between, - - - - - 117, 118 
Old and new school theologies, 181 
Other denominations in Conn., 

188-190 
Otis, Harrison Gray, - - - - 118 
Osborn, JohuC, ----- 107 
Osborn, Selleck, prosecution of, 

99-101 



212 



" Owning the covenajit," 116, 118 

''Parish way," - - - - - - 162 

Parsons, Samuel Holden, - 17, 21 
Parsons, Theophilus, - - - - 181 

Patterson, Judge William, of 
New Jersey, ----- 142 

Percival, James Gates, - - - 138 
Periodical literature, - - - - 200 

Perkins, Rev. Nathan, - - - 51 

Notice of sermon of, - - 51, 52 

Perr}", Rev. Joseph, - - - - 83 

Phillips, Rev. George, - - - 148 
Pierrepont, Rev. John, - - - 138 
Pierson, Rev. Abraham, of Bran- 
ford, - - - 199 

Indian catechism of, - - - 199 
Pierson, Rev. Abraham, statue 

of, - - - 197 

Pitkin, Rev. Timothy, - - - 48 
Pitkin, Hon. Timothy, - 48, 137 
Pitkin, Gov. William, - - - 48 
"Plan of Union," ----- 187 

Porter, Rev. Noah, of Farming- 
ton, - - ------ 184 

Porter, President Noah, His 
description of Christian lit- 
erature, 198 

Post-offices in 1774, . - - - 173 
Prentice, George D., - - - - 138 

Public worship, attendance at, 

required by law, - - -134, 135 

Putnam, Gen. Israel, 17, 21, 80, 81 

Letter of, ------- 81 

P^'m, John, ------- 154 

Quakers, -------- 163 

Queen Elizabeth, 164 

Reeve, Tapping, - 137 

Religious Intelligencer, - - - 200 

Revivals, 183, 184 

Revolution, results of war of, 

93, 94 

Stories of, - - 8 

Ripley, Rev. Hezekiah, - - - 43 
Robbins, Rev. Ammi R. , - - 53 
Extracts from his journal 
while chaplain in the army, 

. 53, 54 



Robinson, Rev. Edward, - - 49 
Robinson, Rev. William, - - 49 
Root, Jesse, ------- 142 

Ross, Rev. Robert, - - - - 39, 40 

Rowland, Rev. David S., - - 51 
Russell, Rev. Samuel, - - - - 109 

Sage, Rev. Seth, ----- 48 

St. John, Peter, - 41 

Salem, Mass., ------- 148 

Saltonstall, Gurdon, - - - - 103 

Saltonstall, Sir Richard, - - - 148 
Saybrook Platform, - - - - 163 

First book published in Conn. , 194 
School fund, origin of, - - - 131 
School lands, ------- 125 

Science and revelation, - - - 183 
Sedgwick, Charles F. , - - - 55 
Separate churches, - - - - - 172 

''Separates," ------- 164 

"Seventh day men," - - - -163 

Sherman, Roger, - - - 21, 136, 142 
Sherman, Roger Minott, - - - 137 
Sherwood, Rev. Samuel, - - - 47 
Sigourney, Mrs. Lydia H. , - - 138 
Silliman,^ Benjamin, 40, 67, 75, 76, 

127 
Silliman, Gen. Gold S., - 40, 120 
Skinner, Rev. Newton, - - - 49 
Smalley, Rev. John, 49, 107, 108, 
117, 179, 196 
Smith, Rev. Cotton Mather, 55-57 
Smith, Rev. David, - - - - 107 

Smith, Rev. Henry, - - - - 137 

Smith, John Cotton, - - - - 137 

Slavery in Connecticut, - - - 188 

" Sons of Liberty," 18 

Spencer, Joseph, ----- 17 
Spring, Rev. Samuel, of New- 

buryport, Mass., - - 179, 181 
Stamp act, ------ 18, 173 

And the ministers, - - - - 20 
Stanley, Capt. Gad, - - - - 50 
Stiles, Rev. Ezra, - 115, 117, 123, 

129, 180 

Address to Gov. Trumbull, 86-88 
Stone, Rev. Samuel, - - 147, 161 

Defines Congregationalism, - 3 
Storrs, William L., 138 



213 



Stratford, Episcoi)al inovenu'iil 

ill, - - 164 

Strict Congregationalism, - - 1(54 
Strong, Kev. Joseph, - - - - 75 
Strong, Rev. Nathan, - - IGG, 179 
Strong, Rev. Nehemiah, - - - G3 
Sunday, observance of, - - - l;33 
Evening, ------- 135 

Schools, - - 108 

Travel forbidden, - - - - 134 

Susquehanna lands, . - . . j)-] 

Swift, Zephaniah, ----- 137 

Synod of Philadelphia, action of 

in 1810 against Ilopkinsianisni, 180 

Taking notes of sermons, 135, 151 
"Taste scheme," ----- 179 

Taylor, Rev. Natlianiel, - - - 132 
Taylor, Rev. Nathaniel W., - - 197 
Tea, introduction of as a bever- 
age, --------- 135 

Temperance, ------- 189 

Thanksgiving, ------ 7 

Theological controversies, - - 178 
Theological seminaries, - - - 190 
Tithing-men, ------- 134 

Todd, Jonathan, M. D., - - -141 
Toleration partj', ----- 175 

Tories sent to Connecticut for 

safe keeping, 25 

Town libraries, - - - 8, 108-110 
Tracy, Uriel, ------- 137 

Treadwell, John, - - - 132, 133 
Treat, Robert, ------ 28 

Trumbull, Rev. Benjamin, 05-68, 

117, 132 
Trumbull, John, the poet, - - 22 
Tmmbull, Col. John, - - 22, 137 
Trumbull, Jonathan, 21, 136, 175 
Stiles' address to, - - - 80-88 
Trumbull, Jonathan, the 

younger, - - - - - 137, 142 

Try on. Gen. William,- - - - 64 



Unitarianism, origin of, 



182 



Wadsworth, Gen. James, 21, 132 
Wait, Marvin, - 132 



Wales, Rev. Samuel, - - - - 71 

Wallingford, [)[) 

War of 1812, opposed by the 
ministers and the Federal- 
ists, 140 

Warham, Rev. John, - - - - 146 

War, French and Indian, in- 

tluence of on the churches, 178 
Warwick, Earl of, first English 

proprietor of Connecticut, 154 

His deed of it to others, - - 154 

Washington, George, - - 17, 136 

Letter of, ------- 81 

Waterman, Rev. Elijah, - - - 34 
Waterman, Rev. Simon, - - - 132 
Watertown, Mass., church 
formed there, ----- 48 

Watts, Rev. Isaac, ----- 11 

Webster, Noah, 137 

Welles, Gideon, ------ 133 

West, Rev. Stephen, - - 117, 179 
Western lands, - - - - 131, 132 

Westmoreland, Pa., - . - - 172 
Wethersfield, origin of church 

in, ------ - 146-149 

Difficulties in church in, - - 161 
Whitaker, Rev. Nathaniel, - - 75 
Whiting, Nathaniel, - - - - 17 

Whitney, Eli, - - - - 107, 137 

Whittlesey, Rev. Chauncey, 84, 120 

Prayer of, - - 62 

Willard, Mrs. Emma, - - - - 138 

Willard, Rev. Samuel, of Bos- 
ton, --------- 196 

Williams, Rev. Elisha, - - - 28 
Williams, Rev. Nathan, - - - 85 
Williams, Rev. Roger, - - - 196 
Williams, Rev. Solomon, - - 196 
Williams, Thomas S., - - - 138 
Williams, Rev. Warham, - - 132 
Williams, William, - - - - 21 

Windsor, First church in, 

formed in England, - - - 146 

Winthrop, John, 147 

Wolcott, Alexander, - - - - 137 
Wolcott, Henry, Jr., His notes 
of Rev. Thomas Hooker's 
sermon on civil government, 151 



214 



AYolcott, Oliver, - - - 21, 137, 142 
Proposed increase of manu- 
factures in Connecticut, to 
check emigration from it, 126 

Wolcott, Roger, 17 

Wood, Rev. Samuel, - - - - 28 
Woodbridge, Rev. Samuel, - - 50 
Woods, Rev. Leonard, - - - 181 
Woolsey, Rev. Theodore D., - 199 
Wooster, Gen. David, - - - 21 



Worthington, Rev. William, - 137 

Yale College, 167, 180, 183, 184, 189 
How it was begun, - - - - 109 
John Adams' opinion of it, - 129 
Books of its alumni, - - - 201 
Laymen admitted to the cor- 
poration in 1792, - - - - 131 
And Harvard and good man- 
ners, 126 



